A Pretty Good Year
by beefer-beefed
Summary: Follow Kurt Hummel through Junior year as he struggles with the typical tribulations of an adolescent gay teen, bullying, innocent flirtations and maybe even love. Rated M for later chapters. Reviews are love.
1. Of My Favorite Things

Kurt stepped into the spotlight with all the grace of someone who'd done this a hundred times. Truthfully though, if he were being completely honest this was his first. This year had been the year of firsts for him it seemed, first real crush, first time holding hands, first kiss, the first time he fell asleep in someone's arms. So it was oddly fitting that this year end in a way that was so utterly different than the way it had started. Stepping into the spotlight, he felt the faces of the thousands of spectators, all judging and making premature accusations. Their indifference gave him courage as he swept his eyes across the room as If he was meeting the gaze of every single one of them. Their resentment would only fuel his conviction, his very firm belief that he was going to win this thing. He'd been waiting for this moment since he was five years old and saw his first live performance. It was then, nestled on his mother's lap that he knew that the stage, this stage was where he belonged in the world.

"_Face to face, and heart to heart." _ Kurt began, harmonizing perfectly with the much stronger, huskier voice opposite to him on the stage. As soon as they began he heard every voice in the room go completely silent. _Eat your heart out._

_10 months earlier._

Kurt rubbed at his temples as he tried his very best to suppress a very prominent headache that was threatening to become a full-fledged migraine. The Glee Clubbers first day back had certainly been less than spectacular having almost all received slushy facials this morning. Then if you happened to be him, Kurt Hummel, you received another one in the afternoon. It was alright though, last year he had exactly three friends, now looking around the room he had ten rather spectacular ones.

Mr. Schue hadn't changed much, if at all over the summer. He was still wearing incredibly tacky vests, going over the top with the enthusiasm and forcing rather ridiculous assignments on them. Even now he stood there lecturing them on how much they should appreciate the fact that even though they were almost all at the bottom of the social food chain, they should be grateful for one another. They got it; life was awesome _blah and blah and blah_. Kurt thought absently as he fiddled with a stray piece of hair that had somehow managed to escape his barrage of organic hair products. He blamed the fact that he had to wash and restyle it twice in the girl's bathroom today, which is not something he enjoyed doing. Especially since it was to get red dye number seven out AND it never failed to make him at least twenty minutes late for class.

Kurt's eyes wandered over to Puck who happened to be staring absently at nothing, no one was really listening to Mr. Schue, save for maybe Rachel and Finn. Puck however seemed to be locked in his own train of thought, not do to boredom like the rest of them. No, it was something else that he couldn't quite place his very well-manicured finger on. Maybe Jacob's blog had been accurate when he said that Puck was suffering from a crippling depression due to his break up with their resident Queen B, ex-baby mama. It was sad to think about, especially since everyone had kind of fluffed it off as being inaccurate because he was _Noah freaking Puckerman_. He didn't get depressed, or have off days he was supposed to be the school's stud that'd spent the summer sleeping around with hot moms. Kurt rolled his eyes at the thought as he also brushed the thought of; it wasn't really his problem anyways. Sure, him and Puck might be 'friends' but that's because everyone in Glee Club was friends. Would Kurt ever go over to his house for marathon runs of Mario Kart like Finn? In all likelihood, no he wouldn't want to do that. Would Kurt want Puck to come over to his house and give him tips on fashion and skin care? Or as his very good friend Mercedes might have said, oh helllll to the no. This is why Kurt finds himself looking back to Mr. Schue's bright smile as he rambles on and on about how great it's going to be to perform for the entire school on the steps as some ingenious way to make people sign up. After all, Matt had transferred and even though they were now a close-knit group they needed at least one more person in order to qualify for the show-choir competition.

"Alright guys now I want Artie to come in first for the first two verses, followed by Finn then Puck. Girls and Kurt, you'll be singing harmony with Rachel on lead female vocals." Mr. Schue said as he started passing out the sheet music to all the kids, a look of outrage instantly on Mercedes face. Understandably so considering the song choice, this was after all their first homage to Alicia Keys. Someone he knew Mercedes held dear to her heart.

"What? It's our first day back and you've already got me playin' that Kelly Roland part again." Mercedes yells, her finger coming up instantly as she's about to go what Kurt likes to call her 'full diva mode.' The whole room shifts uncomfortable as Rachel flicks her hair over her shoulder about to get up with an opposing argument. Mr. Schue silences her with a single finger before he looks back over at Mercedes who does NOT look impressed.

"Well for your part Mercedes I was thinking we could pour some of that chocolate thunder on our harmonies over top of the male vocals." He says, clearly just pulling that one straight out of his ass. However, it seems to work as Mercedes rolls her eyes and sits back down. Kurt knows she isn't happy, that's why she had no words of thanks or even a snarky remark; she knows that trying to argue with the man will get you nowhere.

"Alright guys lets run through the vocals and we'll work on the choreography tomorrow morning, hopefully we'll be ready for lunch time." Mr. Schue says as he signals for Brad to kick up with the piano, leading the kids through the music, most of which were trying not laugh as soon as Finn started rapping. It wasn't their fault; by the red cheeks it was obvious that even Finn knew that he and rapping were not a very good idea. Kurt had to say that he was mildly surprised at how well Puck seemed to pick it up, when he came in with the next couple of verses Kurt couldn't help but smile. Something he normally wasn't accustomed to, almost letting himself have fun with the number, which if you'd seen their impromptu performances in the club he didn't normally do.

"Alright guys not bad, I'm sure we're going to have a line-up of kids just WAITING to get in on this." Schue said as he pointed at the ground with a wide-grin on his face, Kurt only rolled his eyes at the man, doing so cause him to look over at Puck again. He'd gone quiet again and was once again lost in his own train of thought, unlike everyone else who seemed to be chatting excitedly about the performance tomorrow. Even Mercedes was excited about the performance, having gotten over her hurt ego after she'd totally killed the last few rifts in the song.

"See all of you bright and early for some dance boot camp… Finn maybe you should come a little earlier…" Schue said half seriously and with a smile, but still completely serious as Finn's face dropped slightly and everyone seemed burst out into small laughs that probably hurt a little bit. It seemed that the entire club found Mr. Schue's joke hilarious, save for him and Puck. Kurt didn't really find it funny because it was sadly true and it wasn't really Finn's fault that he couldn't dance; at least he tried really hard. When it came to the choreography he had to put in almost as much effort as Artie did.

As all the Glee kids filed out, Kurt took a few extra moments to pack up his sheet music and gather his things. He took a few confident steps out of the choir room, seeing the deserted halls he thought that maybe now would be a good time to get some extra practice in. After all, it wasn't very often that the school was deserted and he'd get to have the auditorium all to himself. Kurt made his way towards the auditorium with his typical walk of that seemed to breathe pure confidence. As he walked he thought he heard a slight buzzing but brushed it off as he opened the large metal doors of the auditorium and made his way towards the stage, completely unaware that his phone was going off in his messenger bag.

"_Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens_

_Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens_

_Brown paper packages tied up with strings_

_These are a few of my favourite things."_

Kurt began hearing an imaginary orchestra behind him as he walked gracefully around, mimicking Julie Andrews signature mannerisms as he imagined a sold out show here to listen to him sing.

"_Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels_

_Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles_

_Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings_

_These are a few of my favourite things"_

Kurt mimicked the small twirls across the stage, the choreography that he'd taught himself when he was seven, determined to play the role iconic role of Maria one day. Kurt was completely oblivious to a pair of dark eyes watching him from the shadows, his twirls and every graceful step he took across the stage.

"_Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes_

_Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes_

_Silver white winters that melt into springs_

_These are a few of my favourite things"_

Kurt easily hit the sudden and sharp high notes that came with the song, delivering with the song his signature controlled emotion. The ability to create virtually any emotion for a role, to hurl himself perfectly into a character the moment he took to the stage.

"_When the dog bites_

_When the bee stings_

_When I'm feeling sad_

_I simply remember my favourite things_

_And then I don't feel so bad."_

Kurt let himself get mildly angry with the song, spinning on his heels to land with his eyes level with his imaginary audience. Still completely unaware of the man on the balcony, this man had watched Kurt for most of his impromptu performances.

"_Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens_

_Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens_

_Brown paper packages tied up with strings_

_These are a few of my favourite things"_

Kurt let every ounce of power he had into the song when the verses came back for the second around, letting the pure elation spread through him as he spun across the play. Laughing jubilee as he did, something he never did with others watching, not in Glee Club, nobody.

"_Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels_

_Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles_

_Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings_

_These are a few of my favourite things_

_Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes_

_Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes_

_Silver white winters that melt into springs_

_These are a few of my favourite things"_

Kurt let himself take center stage, pouring himself into his imaginary spotlight and living purely in this perfect moment.

"_When the dog bites_

_When the bee stings_

_When I'm feeling sad_

_I simply remember my favourite things_

_And then I don't feel so bad."_

Right now Kurt Hummel let himself forget that he was a love-less gay kid at the bottom of the social food chain. In this moment he wasn't the one who never got a solo, he wasn't someone who always sang harmony. He embodied Maria on that stage and let himself explode with the fierce theatricality that he'd born with. Kurt looked out to meet the eyes of every audience member, feeling the approval of his Father and his peers. Hoping that maybe the love of his life was there sitting in the audience and he'd finally realize that Kurt was everything he'd ever need.

Then he was back, and Kurt let his arms fall as he panted heavily, bringing the back of his wrist up to swipe at his forehead. Kurt would first have to find someone to be the love of his life in order to make them fall madly in love with him. Certainly he lusted for a lot of guys but all of their personalities left something to be desired. Not to mention that he could count on one hand the amount of guys that would let him within five feet of them and used his first name. He wouldn't even really need to use his whole hand. Kurt made his way to the end of the stage rubbing his temples a little as he did and not even hearing the click of the auditorium doors closing. His every muscle ached as he thought about taking a nice hot bath the very second that he got home. Kurt reached into his messenger bag to check his phone and froze when he looked at it. Seeing the six missed calls icon and the voicemail Kurt felt his breathing hitch. Every call was from his father who was supposed to pick him up after Glee Club since Kurt's baby was in their shop getting an oil change. Kurt clicked the phone icon and pressed the missed call icon, listening carefully to his father's words.

"_Hey Kurt its Dad, looks like you're not here. Guess you went to Mercedes house or something, anyways Carole and I are going to a movie so just make sure you're home at a reasonable hour."_

Kurt gritted his teeth as he called back, the call going instantly to voicemail. _I swear my father is the only one who actually shuts their phone off in the theater…_ Kurt thought to himself as he shoved his phone back into his bag, really not excited to walk home. It wasn't incredibly far but he was tired and people liked to yell things out their window when he walked down the street. Swinging the bag over his shoulder he made his way out of the auditorium, smiling at the lonely janitor who was mopping the floors in the hallway. The sun was still out and bright, thank god It was still kind of summer, if it was dark he'd probably of been even more uncomfortable. He started through the parking lot, pooping his headphones in as he stuck them into his iPhone.

"Hummel?" A husky voice called to him before he had a chance to hit play on '_No Good Deed' _and start pounding the pavement. Kurt looked over to see a rusty old pickup truck, one of the few remaining vehicles on the lot. In the driver's seat was none other than Noah Puckerman. _What is he still doing here..?_ Kurt thought to himself as he felt his feet shift and start to carry him towards the half back.

"Need something Puckerman?" Kurt asked as he stood in front of the open driver's window, not forgetting for a second who he was talking to. Two years ago this guy had thrown pee balloons at him and assisted in nailing all of his lawn furniture to his roof. He took in Puck's demeanour; he smelled a little vile and looked more than a little bit tired. This is when the gears finally started turning, realizing now that there had been a football practice after Glee Club.

"You need a ride or something? Where's your car?" Puck asked cocking an eyebrow at him, catching Kurt a little bit off-guard. He had expected him to get up here and be forced to withstand some undoubtedly lewd comment or snarky remark before he was left in a dust cloud. Kurt shifted a little in front of him; this could easily be some trap to get Kurt to walk right into some prank. Though Puck had given up even the morning dumpster tosses last year after he joined Glee Club. Kurt's mind wandered to that dreadful walk home, since it was unseasonably hot and since he did decide to wear black skinny jeans today, he would accept the ride home.

"Yeah actually, that'd be great." Kurt said with a small smile before he made his way to the passenger door and opened up the door, getting into the old beast. "My baby's in the shop right now, she needs an oil change." Kurt added as he fastened his seat belt, noticing that Puck did not have his one. Puck only rolled his eyes at Kurt's precious baby as he turned on the radio immediately turning to some classic rock. "Just don't touch the tunes." Puck said with a smile as he pulled out of the school's parking lot heading for Kurt's house, '_Thunder Road.' _By Bruce Springsteen coming onto the radio, an instant smile spreading on his lips. What he didn't tell many people was that he grew up with a Dad who loved classic rock and for the earlier part of his childhood a mother that did to. This song in particular was close to his heart, when he'd been taking classical piano lessons his Dad had bought him the sheet music for this song and had told him.

"_If you can play this song, I'm gonna take out a loan for you to get a piano."_ So Kurt practiced and practiced on his old keyboard, it was difficult. Being a rock song it'd been so dramatically different than what he was used to, but eventually he had it down. Then a week later he had his very own baby grand set up in his basement.

"You know this song?" Puck asked turning for a moment to cock his eyebrow at him again, a look of genuine surprise on his face. Kurt only smiled at him, not even realizing he'd been singing along. Before he realized what was happening his soft and beautiful voice was accompanied by Puck's husky voice, harmonizing perfectly in time. Kurt didn't look over at Puck, feeling like if he looked at him than this very gay moment would come to an end. He didn't get to sing with other guys very often and when he did, he really liked to appreciate it, even if it was someone he was supposed to despise.

"Trust me, if you met my Dad than you'd understand my love of classic rock." Kurt said when the song finished and Puck pulled up to the Hummel household, probably remembering from the lawn furniture incident. "You should sing them more often, you were kind of awesome." Puck said with a half-smile when Kurt slid out of the truck, a comment that caught Kurt completely off-guard. He felt himself almost blush at the comment; no he was pretty sure that he was in fact blushing.

"Thanks… and um, thanks for the ride." Kurt said scratching the back of his head as he slammed the door and turned his back on Puck, not totally sure what had just happened there. Well he knew what just happened; he'd accepted a ride from someone he hated and by the end of it he felt a strange bond with said someone, weird.

Kurt closed the door to his basement room and took a few tentative steps into the Dior gray room, placing his messenger bag down on his couch as he sat down on his bed. Kurt heard a bussing come from his bag and with a slight eye roll he pulled himself off of his bed, and crossed his room to his bag. Pulling the iPhone out he saw a text message from someone that he'd labelled 'Ignoramus.'

Ignoramus: _Dude u totally owe me now._

Kurt: _I'm sorry… who is this?_

Ignoramus: _Puck…_

Kurt: _Oh! Don't call me dude and I owe you nothing, you offered._

Ignoramus: _Then u should offer to drive me to glee rehearsal tomorrow._

Kurt: _What happened to that wonderfully fabulous POS you dropped me off in?_

Ignoramus: _Crapped out a couple blocks away from my house. Dude. Seriously?_

Kurt: _Seriously don't call me dude._

Kurt: _Fine I'll pick you up and get my Dad to tow it tomorrow; I'll even take a look at it after Glee Club. Then you owe me though._

Ignoramus: _Lol, youll look at it? Thanks man, see you in the am._

Kurt: _Don't call me- ugh. Goodnight Puckerman._

Kurt rolled his eyes as he snapped his phone shut rolling off of his bed to plug his phone into his dock, setting it for six am sharp. He looked at the time and realized how late it was getting, he still had to go upstairs and fix dinner then start in on his moisturizing routine. Looks like that nice relaxing bath wasn't going to be happening tonight.


	2. Of Boot Camp And Just Booty

Kurt groaned when he heard his dock start filtering some classic ADELE through its speakers. Mornings were always dreadful for him but somehow '_Chasing Pavement'_ seemed to take the edge off, even if only a little bit. He arched his back as he stretched his aching muscles, crawling out of his luxurious canopy bed. He was glad he'd convinced his father to replace the cold floors with some nice plush carpeting. It was so much better to wake up in the morning and be greeted by a soft, warm friend rather than something that was just chilly and hard. Sitting down at his vanity he looked at his tired eyes, splotchy skin and messed up hair with a look of absolute disdain. _Why must ever morning start out this way..? _Kurt thought to himself as he examined his reflection, he leaned his head down into his hands. Resting his eyes against his smooth skin as he tried to gather the determination to move and begin another day of torment.

Kurt heard the second song in his morning playlist and he felt himself smile as he moved his shoulders front and back in front of his mirror. _'Ray of Light'_ by none other than the always fabulous _Madonna_. Kurt smiled as he did some silly vogue moments in the mirror before the chorus kicked up and he found himself spinning around his room excitedly.

"_And I feel!_

_Like I just don't care!"_

Kurt sang excitedly as he moved towards the bathroom ready to face the day with the same fierce attitude that he faced every day with. _Do it for Madonna._ Kurt thought to himself in the shower as he scrubbed away the sleep from his body and the sweat that had clung to his typically perfect hair. When he shut the water off and stepped out of the shower and wrapped his big fluffy housecoat around his wet body, shivering a little bit as he did. Kurt methodically went to work on his appearance as he sat down at his vanity, having used an exfoliating scrub in the shower his pores were now wide open and needed to be cleansed and closed.

When he got to his closet he remembered their 'dance boot camp' that they had this morning and decided to go for a pair of tights, a pair of black flats and a plain white t-shirt. In addition he grabbed a pair of black Alexander McQueen jeans, gray loose-fitting shirt that hung off of one shoulder by Dior and a thin black belt to go around his waist. There was no way he was going to be wearing his dancing clothes all day; he was Kurt Hummel after all. Kurt smiled when he stepped out of his house into the crisp morning air, pulling a black head band over his forehead to push his hair off of it. When he started working up a sweat he didn't want it to ruin his hair, he could always just restyle it later. Thankfully, at this ungodly hour nobody would be awake and he wouldn't have to worry about not looking absolutely perfect. Though, when he noticed his reflection in his baby's rear view mirror he couldn't help but think that even in workout clothes and his hair pushed back. He still looked rather fabulous.

Kurt dialled the number for his father's shop, knowing the man was normally there at 5am. Unlike his son, Burt was very much a morning person; it was irritating how much energy the man had in the morning.

"Hummel's Tires and Lube."

"Hey Dad, can you do me a favour?"

"Of course Kurt, anything."

"My friend's truck broke down on Pickering…"

"And you want me to drive over there and tow it for him?"

"Yeah I'll take a look at it; I just don't want it to get towed by someone else."

"Yeah no problem, Its lookin' like a slow day at the office anyways."

"Thanks and thanks for bringing my baby home Dad."

"Anytime Kurt."

Kurt closed his phone as he started his Navigator's engine, pulling out of the drive way and heading towards the Puckerman household. He only knew the address because he'd dropped Finn off there a couple times in the past. He honked a couple of times to let the half-back know that he was here, he felt kind of rude but he was tired and tired Kurt was a rude Kurt. It was a fairly nice morning, despite the ungodly hour, there were a few clouds in the sky and according to the weather network it would be nice and breezy. Kurt laid his head against his window, loving the way the cool plane of glass felt against his forehead.

Kurt felt/heard a loud knock on the glass making him jump suddenly, instantly realizing he'd fallen asleep he checked his reflection before remembering he was in gym clothes. The back of his wrist wiped across his mouth, realizing in complete mortification that he'd drooled he looked out his window to see a laughing Noah Puckerman. Kurt rolled his eyes, trying to feel the mild blush of humiliation that had formed as a result of his rather embarrassing display. He unlocked the door as Puck rounded on Kurt's Baby before sliding into the passenger seat, Kurt sniffed suddenly. He could smell something delicious and it was wafting off of Puck, no it wasn't cologne, it was most definitely some kind of food. He felt his stomach growl and realized that he'd skipped out on breakfast this morning so that he could leave early to get Puck, plus he was too tired to make anything.

"Hummel." Puck said with a nod as he leaned against the car door. "Sleep well?" He asked as a smile crept across his handsome features. Kurt grit his teeth in response as he pointed his best ice queen stare at him.

"Buckle it Puckerman." Kurt said coldly, watching as Puck put his seat belt on like he was told. Not without a very prominent roll of his eyes first though. Kurt pulled away from the Puckerman household; it wasn't really much of an inconvenience for Kurt to pick him up since Kurt actually lived a little bit further from the school than Puck and it was kind of on the way. Puck instantly grabbed the iPod that was connected to the stereo and Kurt's stare glare flickered from the stereo back to Puck.

"I highly suggest you leave my music alone, lest I accidentally kick you out of a moving vehicle." Kurt hissed, feeling a small headache starting already. Puck was probably going to put on some loud classic rock which really could not be tolerated right now.

"Relax Princess I'll pick something good." Puck said a small smile on his lips as he stared at the small screen, completely engrossed in what he was doing. Suddenly _'The Cave' _by _'Mumford and Sons'_ started filtering through his car speakers, the volume get at a very low setting. Kurt hated that he was no longer allowed to be agitated with Puck, since he really loved this song and it was perfect for soothing driving music. Kurt let out a huff of hair as he stared knives into the middle of the road, his fingers clenched around the wheel a little bit. _And did Puck just call me Princess?_ Kurt thought feeling more than a little bit pissed off that he'd found it appropriate to start up with teasing nicknames again. Again Kurt shot him a glare and it only seemed to fuel the smile that was spreading on Puck's lips.

"Princess?" Kurt asked as calmly as he possibly could, though he was sitting there absolutely seething. Puck burst out into laughter, cackling rather loudly. The guy seriously thought that something was absolutely hilarious because he had tears in his eyes.

"WHAT!" Kurt yelled feeling his shoulders hike up a little bit as he pulled into the parking lot of the school, really glad that this was over. Noah Puckerman was hands down the most irritating person in the world to drive, and he was lazy because he seriously lived like a ten minute walk from school. Yet he drove every day and that was probably why that beat up truck lasted as long as it did.

Puck managed to gain composure as he wiped his eyes, still letting out small chuckles. Kurt pulled into a parking space and he took a few couple breaths, that was easily the most stressful drive of his entire life.

"Would you mind telling me what was so funny?" Kurt asked as he took in a few deep, even breaths and let himself calm down a little bit. At least now every one of his muscles wasn't clenched and ready to pounce.

"Oh nothing man, just tired." Puck said simply, only offering Kurt a rather cheap answer considering how pissed off he'd just made Kurt. "Listen, what time do you want to go to your Dad's shop and how much do you think he'll charge?" Puck asked, completely changing the subject as the two of them slid out of the truck, completely oblivious to the pair of eyes that were fixed on the two of the, Kurt slung his wardrobe change over his shoulder, having wrapped the clothes in plastic while on their hangers. Kurt looked away from Puck and shook his head, clearly the boy didn't believe him when he said that he'd work on the truck after school and his Dad was just going to tow it.

"Well he won't charge you anything because I'm going to look at it and see what I can do after school; he just towed it for you this morning." Kurt said as they started towards the school, Kurt's dancing flats clicking against the concrete as they did. "So whatever parts are needed I'll charge you for, but I'll give you a discount on the labour, which means now you owe me again." Kurt said a triumphant smirk on his face as they pulled open the doors to the school and headed towards the auditorium. Those same two eyes watched from behind a minivan as the two disappeared into the school.

"Yeah Princess, guess I do. Though I still don't believe you." Puck said with as he stuck his hands in his pockets while they walked through the empty McKinley corridors. Kurt stopped in his tracks as he stood outside of the auditorium doors, his hand on the door.

"Don't call me Princess." Kurt said, his eyes levelling on Puck's for a moment his eyes icy as he turned away and opened the door, stepping out onto the floor. Puck made a face at this but just followed the temperamental diva into the empty room, they were a little early but the others should be getting there pretty soon.

"Wait how am I getting home then?" Puck asked, his brow furrowing a little bit and making Kurt stop in his tracks. He grit his teeth again as he spun on his heal, his firm eyebrow raised at the boy. Puck was making assumptions that it was in anyway Kurt's problem that Puck had to walk ten minutes to get home. "Plus I'm kinda broke dude…" Puck said trailing off as his mind finally reached the whole thing about him having to give Hummel money to fix his truck.

"Don't call me-"

"Can I like help you fix my truck and you do it for free?" Puck asked, gears kind of turning in his head but like always they didn't produce very good results when it came to what was fair. Kurt let out an exasperated sigh as he reached up and rubbed his temples, clearly not in the least bit happy with the entire situation.

"You would be no help I'm sure." Kurt says simply as he looks away and starts thinking, normally if it was a friend in need he'd have no problem doing it for free. Right now though, he was tired and really pissed at Puck, which meant he was not about to give him anything for free. Puck kind of frowned at Kurt's response, obviously a little disappointed that the guy had just completely shot down his idea, which in his mind, seemed to be fair. "Most nights I help my Dad close the shop, usually right after school. Things like, sweep and mop the floor, do a quick inventory, count the till. Those kinds of things take a couple hours to get done, you do those and I'll work on your truck. Fair?" Kurt asked as he came up with a good counter offer, janitorial work seemed simple enough for Puck to do, his inventory sheet came with pictures and Puck was a criminal which meant he was good with money… _Maybe I'll do that last one myself_ Kurt thought as the idea of Puck being in charge of handling the money for the day didn't really sit well with him. In all likelihood it wouldn't sit well with his Father either so he'd save that for himself to do.

"Yeah dude sounds good." Puck said as a clearly confident smirk spread on his face, obviously thinking he got the better of the deal. In reality though Kurt was hoping that this truck was going to be a nice challenge for him to undertake, he loved taking things apart and seeing how they worked, fixing them and putting them back together. Fixing things had always kind of been a hobby of his, it was part of the reason for why he loved fashion so much because you could make your own alterations and make something truly unique.

"Don't call me dude." Kurt said flatly as he turned away from Puck and moved closer to the front of the stage to start his warm ups. He was still a little agitated but somehow he'd started blushing again, it seemed like Noah Puckerman was making him really angry then leaving him red faced quite a bit lately.

"Whatever Hummel, you don't make any sense." Puck said from behind him as Kurt heard the door open and other Glee Clubbers started to show up, all of which were bright eyed and bushy tailed. None of them looked overly pleased to be here right now, Kurt wanted to push the matter but wasn't sure how Puck would react to them speaking in public. So he decided to drop it as he bent down to continue his warm-ups, smiling at girls that walked passed and winking at Mercedes as she took up her spot next to him.

_An hour and a half later…_

Kurt wiped his brow with the back of his hand as he stretched his back, right now pretty much the entire Glee Club hated Mr. Schue and Finn. At one point Mike had almost walked out and Brittany learned that we were allowed to do that in situations like these. The choreography was simple they all just kind of walked around and rocked out from time to time, it should have and was supposed to only take half an hour. Unfortunately Finn still has barely been able to walk and sing, let alone walk and rap, let alone rap. So after having to run the number countless times till Finn had finally sort-of-kind-of gotten it down.

Kurt knew there was no way he'd be able to go to class looking like the complete mess that he did, he was sweaty and his hair was an absolute mess. Luckily he came prepared with his shower kit nestled at the bottom of his messenger bag. Kurt made his way through the halls of McKinley at a brisk pace, not a lot of students were in the halls since first period was about to start. It was still mortifying though to have to pass every single one of them on his way to the showers when he looked as gross as he did. If he happened to run into Finn right now, he was probably going to kill him. Not wanting to miss too much of Chemistry he instantly started peeling off layers of clothes, oblivious to the other boy who had a similar idea.

"Hummel?" A voice asked as Kurt pulled the tights that he was wearing down, wincing as he instantly recognized the voice. He was really regretting the fact that he hadn't chosen a specific isle and had been stripping and walking. Pulling his leotards down while facing the shower, the voice now coming from behind him, Kurt's blood ran cold as they came right back up and he turned to face his accuser. Puck started laughing again, not as hard as in the _Navigator_ but still loud enough to make Kurt fold his arms in front of his bare chest. He turned and went to walk away; hopefully some shreds of dignity were still clinging to the clothes that he'd practically ripped off. "Hey where are you going?" Puck asked as he stepped out of the isle, he was still almost fully clothed. It looked like he'd been able to take his shoes and socks off before Kurt had kind of… appeared.

"What Puckerman?" Kurt asked as he turned coldly on his heel to stare at Puck, his eyes wide and full of hate. Puck was kind of caught off guard by the heat of the stare but just smirked as he leaned against the lockers.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go to class like that… I know I don't. So… why're you leaving? Though that was kinda hilarious." Puck asked as he cocked his eyebrow at the young soprano. Kurt almost laughed this time as he shook his head at Puck's blatant stupidity. Though you think he'd be the first to recognize the situation and agree that yes, Kurt should leave because no straight guy wants to shower with the gay kid. Though Kurt would be lying if he said that the thought wasn't… appealing in its own way.

"Because I'm gay Puck. There's a reason why I waited until everyone left after football practice. No one wants to be too close to the gay kid, especially naked." Kurt said like it was the most obvious thing in the world yet it only seemed to make Kurt confused.

"Dude." Puck said, as if that was an acceptable response to what Kurt had just said.

"Don't call me du-"

"I don't frickin' care. I'm not as big of an idiot as everyone thinks, I know you can't 'catch the gay." Puck said as he righted himself off of the lockers "and dude it's not like I'm going to check you out because that'd just be awkward… so whatever you smell, I smell and there are stalls in there. Even if I wanted to I couldn't check out your junk." Puck said, clearly under the assumption that Kurt was just body conscious and thought Puck was going to make fun of him. After all, that is what happened in a lot of high school showers. It was just guys chirping other guys but Puck believed that that was why Kurt wouldn't shower with the team, just that the jokes made him uncomfortable.

"Okay fine." Kurt said, defeated as he started to be able to smell himself and that was really the most unappealing thing to him and what broke the camel's back. "For the record, I don't care about being checked out. Never really been a problem for me… I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable." Kurt said as he passed Puck and chose the isle over from Puck's to start undressing. "Also, don't call me dude." Kurt said from across the wall of lockers and he heard Puck let out a scoff.

"You don't make any sense Hummel." Puck said and again Kurt felt himself getting angry and was going to storm over there and demand what he meant. Then the locker slammed which meant that Puck was naked and trying to confront him right now was not a good idea. From the shower room he heard the water turn on and he closed his eyes for a few seconds, letting his head clear. Then he remembered that he was in a hurry and was already ten minutes late for class. He stripped off his tights than pulled a WMHS towel around his slender waist before he made his way into the showers.

Kurt had to force himself not to look at Puck when he walked into the showers; he saw an empty spot on the far side from where he heard the water running and went for it. He decided it would be safest if he found a spot on the wall and focused on it.

"_I thought you'd be out of my mind _

_And I'd finally found a way to _

_Learn to live without you _

_I thought it was just a matter of time _

_Till I had a hundred reasons _

_Not to think about you" _

Kurt froze as he heard Puck's husky voice over the water; it sent chills down his spine feeling like this was a scene from a very wet dream. Not that he had those of course. Especially not about Noah Puckerman. Puck seemed to pause now, for whatever reason he'd decided not to keep going with the song but Kurt wouldn't have that. He loved _'The Cult'_ and he was just getting into the song.

"_But it's just not so _

_And after all this time _

_I still can't let go"_

Kurt sang brilliantly, his voice clear over the loud showers and for a brief second he could've sworn that he heard a chuckle come from Puck's shower stall.

"_I've still got your face _

_Painted on my heart _

_Scrawled upon my soul _

_Etched upon my memory baby _

_I've got your kiss _

_Still burning on my lips _

_The touch of your fingertips _

_This love so deep inside of me" _

Kurt and Puck harmonized beautifully for the second time in two days and Kurt just let himself get lost in the song. Letting the suds run down his body as he rinsed his hair clear of any soap, allowing that final note to swell for a few lingering seconds. He wanted to keep going but Kurt shut off the water and wrapped his towel back around his slender waist. He didn't have much time before he had to go, he still had to dry and style his hair, which was likely the most time consuming of anything he had to do. Kurt turned to see Puck also getting out of his stall, his towel not around his waist but instead around his shoulders. For a few brief moments he was completely stunned and his eyes just wandered up that toned, tanned body, then right went back down. Most of Kurt's features were still boyish and a lot of the time he felt lanky and unattractive, but Puck was all man. Kurt's eyes fixed for a moment on the appendage that was referred to as 'Puckasaurus' or 'Puckzilla' now it the nicknames seemed less ridiculous and made much more sense. Kurt spun on his heel, ever the blushing virgin as he stared at a point on the wall and waited for some brutal assault from behind. Instead Kurt heard a few heavy footsteps walk right past him and head towards his own isle, giving Kurt a full view of that artfully sculpted ass before it disappeared from his line of vision.

"You okay Hummel? We gotta get a move on." Puck said which shook from his paralysis; Puck seemed completely unfazed about the fact that the school gay just checked him out. Kurt walked into his isle and quickly dried off and pulled his pre-picked out outfit on, combing his hair into place in record time and putting a very mild amount of product into it he was out of there in about three minutes. Fixing hair and walking as he didn't look behind him to see if Puck was ready to go to the Chem class that they shared. He couldn't even look at him right now, let alone put up with any amount of rude commentary that would undoubtedly come his way.

All of Chem Kurt could feel Puck's eyes on the back of his head, he heard him head over to his desk when the bell rang but he was packed up and out of there before Puck even got close. Moving through the halls, avoiding eye contact with anyone that past him he felt a violent push that sent him hurling into the lockers. He'd deserved that, Puck was just getting him back for checking him out; Puck would probably recommence his morning dumpster tosses after that incident. With a groan Kurt's eyes flickered up, confused for a second when he saw Karofsky walking away from him and not Puck. It was when he picked himself up off the floor that Puck was there about to toss an icy beverage in his face. Kurt immediately closed his eyes, really hating his life in this moment but when the ice cold blast didn't come he risked opening them to see that Puck was actually only handing it to him.

"Now I owe you one, not two." Puck said simply as Kurt took the raspberry slushy in his hands, not quite sure how to take this. He just kind of stared at Puck a little bit lost until he shook his head, realizing how weird he must seem. Clearly the fact that he checked him out didn't bother Puck in the slightest, makes sense considering how many people saw him naked.

"Thanks Puck." Kurt said slowly, instantly realizing he had said 'Puck' and not 'Puckerman'. He sipped on the icy drink as Puck fell in step beside him; it was time to get changed for the Gorilla performance in the courtyard so they were both headed for the same destination. "Don't think getting me second lame drink is going to be sufficient repayment." Kurt said with a laugh as the two stepped into the choir room.

The performance had gone rather disastrously, considering barely anyone even acknowledged that they had even been doing anything. So as Kurt made his way to his Baby he was feeling more than a little down on himself and groaned when he saw that Puck was leaning against his car. He'd completely forgotten about their deal and now Kurt really wanted to go back on said deal, but Puck was a friend and Kurt was really the only one that could help him in this situation.

"Hey Princess." Puck said with a smirk while Kurt unlocked the car doors… he rolled his eyes, it was better than 'dude' at least. So with that Kurt got into his _Navigator_ and pulled out of the parking lot, letting Puck pick up his iPod again. This time he didn't put up a fight, knowing full well that Puck knew to pick well. "Hey." Puck said suddenly as he landed on _Killer Queen_, one of Kurt's all-time favourite songs, but of course he would never tell him that.

"Problem Puck?" Kurt asked his eyes fixed on the road; the garage was further away than Kurt's house was. In fact it was almost on the other side of town, something that was really rather inconvenient when driving in rush hour traffic. At this time of day it seemed everyone was leaving school and all the parents were getting off of work. It was typically madness and Kurt really hated getting stressed out while driving.

"You let me call me you Princess..?" Puck asked kind of distantly as he obviously tried to figure out how and why this transformation had taken place. Kurt felt himself start to feel more than a little pissed off again as he hit the forth red light in a row.

"Momentary lapse in sanity." Kurt said coldly as he kept his gaze fixed a head. He could practically feel Puck's puzzled expression and he shot him a look that clearly said 'stop pestering me.' Clearly he wasn't being taken seriously because he saw smile curl up a bit on Puck's lips and that just pushed him further. "If you start laughing again I'm going to punch you in the face." Kurt said flatly as his eyes shot back to the road when the light seemed to finally turn green. He heard a snicker then with a flick of his eyes saw that Puck was clearly suppressing something monstrous. "Let it out." Kurt said with an exasperated sigh before slamming on his breaks when someone cut him off, making him hit another red light. "Are you kidding me!" Kurt screeched which really sent Puck over the edge because he burst out laughing and somehow during the middle of it. Kurt stopped feeling embarrassed then he kind of starting smiling until finally he found humour in the situation and started laughing uncontrollably.

"That -asshole -cut you the fuck off -eh?" Puck asked in between short chuckles and heavy breaths. The two seemed completely oblivious to the fact that the light had gone green, Kurt was too busy wiping the tears from his eyes.

"Yeah he did didn't he." Kurt aid before jumping when somebody wailed on their horn, instantly pressing on the gas. He felt his breathing even out as the road once again became his main focus, though needless to say he certainly felt more relaxed. He wasn't used to laughing like that, especially around other people. He didn't like the way laughing made his face crinkle, besides he didn't want to end up with laugh lines or crow's feet. The sounds of _'The Kings of Leon' _came filtering through the _Navigator's _speakers and Kurt couldn't help but smile at Puck's obvious excellent taste in music, the guy was playing the soundtrack of his life, or rather what he'd always wanted it to be.

"Dude, we almost here?" Puck asked with a clear roll of his eyes, he was an impatient child and it was starting to get more than slightly ridiculous.

"Don't call me dude." Kurt said simply as he rounded the final corner, they were getting closer to the tire shop but he didn't want to give Puck the dignity of a response.

"You don't make any sense." Puck said for the third time that day and Kurt shot him a quizzical look. Unfortunately he was staring blankly out the window, lost in thought as he looked at the sign of the building we were pulling up to. "Oh. We're here." Puck said as if he needed to tell Kurt that this was in fact Burt's shop. Kurt simply rolled his eyes as he slid out of the _Navigator; _he glanced over at Puck as the two walked in to the shop. He saw his Dad had already taken the liberty of raising it on the lift; the man was nowhere in sight which led Kurt to believe he was picking up stock from a couple towns over. Kurt had been telling him that they were running low on supplies and needed to restock for a few days. Since it was apparently a 'light' day as his Father had put it, he'd likely taken this opportunity to run some errands.

"Alright so let's get started." Puck said, staring wide-eyed up at his truck, the boy didn't know a thing about cars and that wasn't something he was willing to deal with. Kurt pointed towards the broom and lowered his gaze on Puck, making sure they made eye contact before he spoke.

"You can sweep."


	3. Of Everytime I'm With Boys

A/N: I would like to start off by saying thank you for the kind reviews. It means a lot since this is my first fanfiction and everything. I've been writing for most of my life and have rp'd for a long time, but never really thought I'd be able to write a good fanfiction. So telling me I'm doing a good job with portraying the characters and you're interested in what I'm writing about inspires me with self-confidence. So thank you very much because it is really appreciated.

Disclaimer: If I owned Glee, only Puckurtsies would watch it because it would just be excuse after excuse for them to fool around. No plot. No storyline. Just pure smut.

So I obviously/unfortunately don't own it

Now without further ado, here's chapter three!

Kurt had to admit that working in the shop with Puck wasn't nearly as bad as he'd originally thought it was going to be. Granted once Puck had stopped asking him ten thousand questions on what he should do next… and now Puck wasn't working as much as he was playing with some paper clips at the office desk. The floors had been swept and mopped, the stock shelves were reorganized and inventory had been taking. Puck had even washed all the cars that were waiting to be picked up by their owners. However, Puck's pesky truck seemed to have an almost endless amount of problems. There was a hole the size of a tennis ball in the muffler, the carburetor needed to be replaced, as well as the spark plugs and while it was in he thought it a pretty good idea to change the much worn brake pads. It was seriously a miracle that his truck was even able to come to a stop, let alone the fact that it hadn't fallen apart on the road yet.

"Dude when are you going to be done?" Puck asked as he wandered out of the office, clearly bored with the desk supplies he'd been playing with. The guy was a complete child, no a dog would better describe it because at least a child took naps. Kurt was about a pestering question away from taking a laser pointer out and shining it at the wall as a mode of entertainment for Puck. Unfortunately Kurt needed his hands for a moment as he let out a low groan, fitting the last brake pad in place. Kurt's eyes shot over at Puck who had an innocent expression on his face as he leaned against the metallic counter of the shop.

"Don`t call me dude." Kurt said simply as he took a few tentative steps around the old truck. Checking to make double sure that everything was perfect. Nothing that left his hands could ever be less than that, it was a perfectionist thing. "I'm done now. You're welcome by the way." Kurt said with a hint of disdain in his voice as he lowered the car down from the lift and handed Puck the keys. Hopefully the damn thing would start because he really wanted Puckerman out of his hair, he was covered in truck grease and it was seriously going to hinder his moisturizing routine. A smile instantly spread across Puck's lips as he took the keys eagerly and climbed into the driver's side door and slammed it.

"Hummel, you seriously rock." Puck said when the engine roared to life; slowly he backed his truck out of the garage and waved at Kurt as he drove off. Kurt felt a smile tug at his lips as he gave a small wave back, he was almost a little sad to see him go. As irritating as Noah Puckerman was, there was never really a dull moment and on the rare occasion that there was silence between them it was a comfortable one. Kurt opened a moist towelette gently rubbing at the grease that had somehow made its way to his face. Some might find it strange that Kurt was such a neat freak, and was very picky about what products he used on his body. Yet when it came to fixing cars he got right in to it, he didn't let the fact that his hands might get dirty stop him from climbing right into the hood to check out a problem. Hearing his Dad pull up he let out a sigh of relief that he wouldn't have to be the one who closed up the shop, it'd been a long day and he was beyond tired. Though it was still only seven o'clock, he really didn't care because he was going to have that hot bath tonight.

"Hey son, place looks good." Burt said over the top of a box that he was carrying inside; setting it down on the table he looked around the shop. Clearly impressed at all the care and detail that he assumed Kurt had put in to the place. Burt glanced over at the line of gleaming cars, a curious eyebrow raised at his son before he let out a sigh and reached into his back pocket. "How much is it this time Kurt?" Burt asked as he opened up his wallet, when it came to menial tasks Kurt rarely did any more than what was required of him, if he did it was because he wanted something. In the Hummel household if Kurt wanted something nine times out of ten it was money.

"What?" Kurt said looking at his Father with a curious expression before he eyed the wallet, understanding his Dad's misunderstanding. "It wasn't me; I helped a friend from school with their truck and made them clean in exchange." Kurt said simply as Burt rolled his eyes. "Hey! It was only fair." Kurt said getting a little bit offended; maybe he'd been looking for a way out of his chores and had pounced on the opportunity but fair was fair.

"Well do they want a job? The place really does look great." Burt said as he went out to his truck and grabbed another box of supplies, an invoice taped to the front of this one. Kurt had to stop himself from laughing at his Dad's question; there was no way he was going to work in the same place as Noah Puckerman.

"I'm not sure, I'll ask him." Kurt said with a smile on his face as he grabbed his car keys. Yeah, like that'll happen, he thought to himself as he headed towards his 'Navigator' and pulled out of the parking lot with practice ease. While driving he heard his phone buzz over the stereo system and his curiosity was instantly piqued as he glanced at the glowing screen. It was sitting on his dashboard so he couldn't quite make out what it said, only who it was from, Puck. Kurt felt his breathing hitch a little bit; there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with Puck's truck. Kurt's work had been flawless and like everything he did he'd been completely meticulous with the repairs. Kurt pulled into the driveway and instantly went for his phone, seeing that Ignoramus had indeed texted him, which for some reason made him smile.

Ignoramus: _Dude u here Rach sent that Chinese girl to a crck haus?_

Kurt: _Don't call me dude and she's from the Philippines, not China. I can't say I'm surprised either._

Ignoramus: _Tru dat_

Ignoramus: _Wut u doin?_

Kurt: _Thinking about Glee actually. I kind of really want to do a Britney number. I still can't believe we haven't paid her homage._

Ignoramus: _Yeah Id do her. Tell Mr. Schue_

Kurt: _Yeah because he loves taking advice from us._

Ignoramus:_ If he sees students wanna do it then maybe. Make a fb page._

Kurt: _That's… actually a really good idea…_

Ignoramus: _Now were even ;)_

Kurt: LOL. _Not even close._

Ignoramus: _Whatever you say Princess._

Kurt narrowed his eyes at his phone; he decided to ignore the comment. He just had absolutely no energy to start an argument through text message. Slowly he stripped off his grease covered overalls and crumped them up in a ball, putting them in a plastic bag before he put them in the laundry hamper. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was get grease on any of his designer clothes, and then be up all hours of the night working on stain removal.

Kurt ran the bath as he started to pull his clothes up and off of his slender body, examining his physique in the bathroom mirror. His recent growth spurt had left him feeling awkwardly tall and he wasn`t really sure if he liked his `new` look. It was certainly more masculine, which was probably good since he kind of looked like a thirteen year old milk maid before. He tossed a few scented beads as he lit some unscented candles, he wanted the ambience but didn`t want it to smell too bad. The rich smell of vanilla filled his nose as the beads dissolved in the water and released their scent in to it. Kurt sank his pale legs down into the soapy water, relishing in the feel of his muscles relaxing into the bubbles. He grabbed his bath pillow and got comfortable as he laid his head down on it. His mind almost instantly wandered to Puck, a thought that was not in the least bit welcoming, totally wasn`t.

_He`s been so… nice lately._ Kurt thought as he remembered the ride home, then actually letting him shower at the same time as him, plus there was that delicious slushy he`d bought for him. _Plus that body… dear sweet Gaga that man is sculpted. Literally sculpted, it`s so unfair that that beautiful… penis is attached to such an arrogant breeder._ Kurt let his eyes flutter closed as he let out a tiny sigh. It was more than a little pathetic that he couldn`t even say `penis` in his head without hesitating. _Ever the blushing virgin_ Kurt thought to himself as he felt himself start to dose off.

_The lights in the auditorium dimmed as Kurt made his way towards center stage, stepping into the spotlight that seemed like he was born to live in. Puck sat alone in the audience the only spectator to a performance that was clearly meant for only him. Puck sent out a wolf whistle when Kurt walked out in a black sequined top that went up to his neck and covered his arms but left this mid-section completely exposed. Revealing the faint abs that Puck didn't know were even there, the top had a slit across the chest that seemed to tease him with almost showing Kurt's entire toned chest. _

"_For whatever reason,_

_I feel like I've been wanting you all my life_

_You don't understand_

_I'm so glad we're at the same place_

_At the same time, it's over now _

_I spotted you dancin'_

_You made all the girls stare"_

Puck suddenly found himself sitting in a chair under the spotlight, Kurt strutting around him in his boots and tight leather pants that looked almost painted on. His lip darted out to lick his lower lip as he felt most of his blood shoot down to his pants.

"_Those lips and your brown eyes (oooh)_

_And the sexy hair_

_I should shake my thang_

_Make the world want you (giggle)_

_Tell your boys you'll be back_

_I wanna see what you can do (uh)"_

_Kurt rolled his shoulders in time with his hips in front of Puck, swaying his body in ways Puck really didn't think guys could do. What should have bothered him was how hot he was finding the entire performance. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off of Kurt's hips as he turned around, that leather clad ass only a foot or so away from his face as he rolled those hips. He reached out to give it a hard squeeze but Kurt spun around and grabbed that hand, pulling him to his feet._

"_What would it take for you to just leave with me?_

_Not tryin to sound conceited but_

_me and you were meant to be (yeah)_

_You're a sexy guy, I'm a nice Girl_

_Let's turn this dance floor into our own little nasty world!"_

_Kurt sang as he turned around and placed Puck's arm over his shoulder while he moved his body against his. Puck's other arm snaked around Kurt's midsection, feeling himself go painfully hard now when he did. Kurt ground his ass against Puck's denim-clad erection while moving his muscular back against Puck's toned body._

_Kurt spun around, his hand firmly on Puck's chest, his eyes that of a master seductress as he pushed him down and half-sat on his lap, rolling his hips against Puck's crotch. Kurt wore a satisfied smirk on those beautiful rosy lips which Puck couldn't take his eyes off of._

"_Boys! _

_Sometimes a girl just needs one (You know I need you) _

_Boys! _

_To love her and to hold (I just want you to touch me) _

_Boys! _

_And when a girl is with one (Mmm) _

_Boys! _

_Then she's in control!"_

_Puck let out a low moan before he joined in with the song as his teeth grazed the side of Kurt's slender neck. Wanting only to be able to press his experienced lips to that smooth skin._

"_Pull the girl off the dance floor _

_Whisper in ear _

_Must've said somethin' bout me (What you say) _

_Cos now she's lookin' over here _

_You lookin' at me (He He He) _

_With that sexy attitude _

_But the way your girls movin' it (Uh) _

_It puts me in the mood _

_(Ow!)"_

_Puck's hot breath ghosted over the shell of Kurt's ear before Kurt rolled his hips over Puck's body before he turned in his lap, now leaning back against Puck's toned chest. Puck couldn't help but buck his hips up against that ass. Feeling like he was some inexperienced kid Puck's breath started to quiver as he instantly erupted in his pants._

Puck's eyes shot open as he rolled out of bed, looking over to his open window. The cool night breeze filtered through and he couldn't help but think about what just happened. _I just had a… a sex dream about Hummel…_ Puck thought to himself as he stared mystically off at the open space. It was strange, he definitely liked girls, and all girls actually, Mom's even. _It was kinda hot though… _Puck thought as he wondered why he would've had a sex dream about the young soprano. His mind just instantly going back to how damn sexy his dream Kurt could move his hips. _Kurt?_ He thought, stopping his own wandering train of that. _Fuck that, Hummel._ Puck instantly corrected himself, furrowing his eyebrow a little bit. He was probably just reacting because he'd been seeing more of Hummel lately. It wasn't Hummel's fault and he didn't particularly want to make him feel bad if he suddenly shunned him, really not cool… even if the soprano had totally been eye fucking him on his way out of the shower. After this dream, part of him kind of wanted to know if Kurt really did have faint abs and Puck was definitely going to take a closer look at that ass. _Dat ass. _Puck thought for a second before he shook his head again, he glanced at the clock and was grateful that there was still plenty of sleep time. He'd first have to take his minor soaked boxers off because they were definitely more than a little uncomfortable. Puck kicked off the sticky cloth, too tired to actually get changed and rolled back into his bed. He let his warn, soft blankets take him away and carry him safely back to a nice peaceful slumber.

Kurt shook awake in his tub, through bleary eyes he looked at his phone which was still sitting on the side of the tub. He'd only slept for all of ten minutes, not a big deal but he should probably get out now. Slowly Kurt got out of the tub, pulling the stopper on the drain as he stopped onto a fuzzy matt and wrapped himself in a plush white bathrobe. His body felt worlds better and that short little nap was perfect for giving him a nice little push of strength to get through the night. He'd have to go upstairs and fix dinner for himself and his father; if he left it up to him they'd probably have something ridiculous like hot dogs and Kraft Dinner every night. Then of course the nightly moisturizing routine, probably one of the most time consuming of the nightly events. Kurt prepared something simple for dinner; he made some whole wheat pasta with a sauce that he'd made in bulk a couple days earlier, with some meatballs that were turkey instead of beef. Though he'd never tell his father about the minor substitutions he made to their meals to make them a little bit healthy as well as delicious. His Dad was likely working late again, despite Kurt's protests, so like always Kurt just wrapped it in tin foil and put it in the fridge, saving it for him for later.

When his moisturizing ritual was finally finished he created the face book group and messaged all eleven of his contacts, and made it a public event. Hopefully this would stir up some interest; if enough people other than the Glee Clubbers became interested then Mr. Schue might actually listen.

Finally getting to sink into his bed Kurt let his eyes droop closed and sinking into unconsciousness, thankful that he had no reason to get up exceedingly early. He was nearly asleep when his phone buzzed and Kurt let out a groan, reaching over to his night stand he pulled his phone out of his dock. He rolled his eyes at his phone, almost putting it down at the sight of the stupid question. It was one am; of course he wasn't awake… except he was. Kurt groaned as he started to type a response.

Ignoramus: _U awake?_

Kurt: _Now I am._

Ignoramus: _Oh. Awesome. I joined ur group._

Kurt: _That's great. I could've seen that when I checked my facebook. That's why they have notifications._

Ignoramus: _That's not really why I txted u._

Kurt_:_…

Kurt_: Well?_

Ignoramus: _I still technically owe you one…_

Kurt: _This is true_

Ignoramus: _I'll let you make out with me._

Kurt: _Goodnight Puck._

Ignoramus: _?_

[**Text Message Ignored**]

Kurt put his phone back in his dock and rolled back into bed, feeling himself get really pissed off at Puck. He was clearly making fun of him and just like that he'd become just like everyone else and Kurt resented it. Not too much the sheer arrogance that it took for Puck to say something like that, as if Kurt would EVER touch him with a ten foot pole. _He's so hot though… and he makes me laugh when I'm angry… _Kurt thought to himself as he stared absently at the wall before he shook the treacherous thoughts from his head. He really didn't want to be thought of as someone who was so needy, so desperate that he'd actually accept sexual favors. In return for fixing his truck to, of all things.

Kurt closed his eyes tight as he forced himself to let the sleepy haze swirl over him again before finally resting on his eyes. Kurt felt himself slip back into unconsciousness, having blocked Puck's texts from coming to his phone.

When _'Chasing Pavement' _filtered through his speakers, Kurt groaned. Knowing that like always the morning had come far too early for his liking. He rolled out of bed and stopped his alarm, instantly setting off to his morning routine, utilizing _Madonna _after _ADELE _like he always did to get him going.

Finally pulling up to the school he was completely oblivious to a pair of eyes sitting in their blue minivan, watching as Kurt pulled into his typical parking space. It was near the back of the parking lot and since Kurt usually came fairly close to the bell it was one of the few less desirable spots that were always left over. The eyes watched those slender hips sway from side to side as he walked with his typical air of confidence through the parking lot. A moist tongue came out to glide across his lips, watching the slender frame he so adored. Here in the safety of his van he could check the boy out with fear of exposure.

Kurt pulled open the door and moved out of his stalkers line of vision, he'd checked his Facebook page this morning and the group had swelled to a whopping three people other than the Glee Clubbers. He couldn't wait to share this news with Mr. Schue in their afternoon Glee rehearsal; hopefully there would be some additions by then. Still though, three people were the most people they'd ever had in interested in seeing them perform.

It was in his free period after lunch and he had only seen Puck in first period _Chem_ class where he hadn't even acknowledged Kurt's presence and then he wasn't in third period _World History. _It was when he was on his way to the library when it happened again. Strong hands gripped his forearm and he was hurled into the lockers, smacking his head on the hard metal before glaring with hate filled eyes at his aggressor. The retreating burly form of David Karofsky disappeared into the crowd and Kurt exhaled, letting his eyes close for a second. It took him a moment to compose himself, he wasn't about to break down here, he could do this, just get through the day. Instead of going to the library it was clear that Kurt needed to go to the auditorium for his free period. He was now tightly wound and needed to let out some tension, because if he didn't he was going to end up snapping in two.

Puck sat in the balcony of the auditorium, he wasn't expecting to get any company in here, so when he heard the door open up he jumped a little. His eyes instantly darted down to see Hummel walking down the aisle with a CD player. _Oh god._ Puck thought to himself as he thought about his dream last night and then the fact that he hadn't been able to get a single text through to Hummel's phone since he offered to make out with him. He really didn't see what the big deal was, Hummel had totally eye fucked him the yesterday and Puck was all kinds of sexy. Everyone wanted to make out with him, it was like a rule or something he was sure.

He felt himself get a little hot under the collar as he waited for the undoubtedly sexy performance that was about to ensue. So when Hummel pressed play on his dock and proceeded to just stand in the center of the stage while light piano music filtered through the room he was taken a little bit off guard.

"_Notice me, take my hand _

_Why are we strangers when _

_Our love is strong _

_Why carry on without me"_

Puck was surprised at Hummel's song choice, it was very emotional which wasn't a side he normally got to see. Hummel always seemed to be wearing this mask of indifference to always hide exactly what he's feeling.

"_Everytime I try to fly, I fall _

_Without my wings, I feel so small _

_I guess I need you, baby _

_And everytime I see you in my dreams _

_I see your face, it's haunting me _

_I guess I need you, baby"_

Puck imagined what it would be like to have those beautiful words directed at him, he felt really bad now that Hummel was so angry with him. He was clearly blocking his number and that really wasn't cool. Puck slipped away as the soprano continued to sing beautifully and his words travelled through the entire room. Puck slipped out of the balcony seating and went down the hall way to the stage entrance where he slowly opened the door. Hummel was so engrossed with his own performance that he didn't seem to notice that Puck had snatched his phone out of his bag, writing a quick ransom note and sliding it back into the bag. The boy wasn't going to ignore Puck, because nobody did that and he certainly wasn't going to let the boy block his number. Maybe part of him wanted him to come to his house tonight when his Mom and sister were at his Nana's. Maybe after that dream last night and watching Kurt perform such a beautiful song on stage part of him, the part that didn't really think about what he was doing. Wanted to make out with the kid not just as a means of paying him back a favor but because he needed a chance to feel if that body was all he imagined it to be. People could call it whatever they wanted, he had the hots for Hummel and he couldn't do anything about it.

Kurt finished the performance and relished in the feeling of his lingering notes in the electric charged air. He always got such a rush when he sang on stage, no matter what song it was always exhilarating. Kurt went over to his bag and ruffled through it, panic suddenly coursing through him when all he found was a note and not his phone.

_Hummel – I have your phone because you wouldn't answer my texts. Come to my place tonight because I want to do a collaboration… A Britney one, I think we'd be pretty awesome. Also, my offer still stands._

Kurt blinked at the paper, feeling a blush rise in his cheeks as he cleared his phone. Well he certainly needed to get his phone from Puck; lord only knows what terrible things he could be doing with it. Plus what if his Dad called… and then Puck answered it. His Dad was already not Puck's biggest fan, having heard some of the stories of when Puck used to bully him. Kurt needed to get his phone back and well… collaboration with Puck could be fun. Not to mention all the… erm benefits he's gain as a performer by playing with someone new.

It was decided, Kurt Hummel would go to Noah Puckerman's house tonight. Not to make out with him though, to become a better singer because that's what he wanted out of life. To always better himself and hone is many talents. Certainly not to make out with the hottest guy in school, having his first kiss with McKinley's stud was so not him. Definitely not him.


	4. Of A New Name And A Surprising Response

A/N: I'd just like to say thanks again to all the kind reviewers; I was looking over the last chapter and couldn't believe the sheer amount of blatant grammar errors. This is what happens when I decide to go without a Beta and don't bother proof reading… ANYWAYS. Thanks for all the happy thoughts and encouragement, I try to respond to every review that I get because you guys are important ;)

I know where this story is going but I'm not sure about my next one, if anyone has anything that they've always wanted to be turned into a story I'm open for suggestions.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but an HP Pavilion DV6.

That is all, enjoy

Kurt stares at the glowing clock on his dashboard, watching the flashing second timer disappear and reappear. He had a reason to be parked outside of the Puckerman household and it was simple, Puck had taken his phone and was holding it hostage. It was his idea of getting even for Kurt blocking his number, which in hindsight may have been a bit extreme. He couldn't help it that Puck had really pissed him off, he offered himself to Kurt as if Kurt was some sleazy, desperate guy who would never have another opportunity to kiss a boy. From Kurt's current position, being the only out guy at school and indeed the whole town it was looking like he was going to be alone forever. Taking in a deep breath he opened his door and let his feet land on the Puckerman's drive way, letting his Dr. Martins carry him up to the front door. The clock had told him it was a little past eight, he'd hoped that by coming late he wouldn't be expected to stay for very long. Kurt placed a few quick knocks on the door, shifting anxiously as he waited for Puck to answer. He started to feel a sudden anxiety that this was all part of one big practical joke, one where once again Kurt was the punch line.

He breathed out a sigh of relief when Puck opened the door wearing a white wife beater and a pair of track shorts. Even when dressed down Puck always managed to look absolutely delicious, now he didn't have to imagine what was underneath those clothes, he had a pretty good idea, despite how brief his view had been the other day.

"About time. I thought you were gonna come after school…" Puck said, his voice trailing off as Kurt stepped past him and slid out of his boots, now standing there in his blue skinny jeans and red form-fitting sweater that stopped just above his knees.

"I would've texted you." Kurt says coldly as he takes a couple tentative steps into the Puckerman household, walking into the living room and checking out the modest décor. By no means was the Puckerman family a wealthy one but they weren't exactly poor either; from his understanding Puck's Mom maintained a pretty decent job. Puck's face falls slightly at Kurt's words, feeling mildly guilty but taking something Kurt needed was the only way to get his attention so it's exactly what he did.

"I was so stealthy. You didn't even notice me…" Puck said cockily as he flopped down on his couch, extending his muscular body across it, while folding his arms behind his head. Kurt watched as the hem of Puck's shirt rose up a little bit, revealing a small amount of those delicious abs and treasure trail. "You're really talented." Puck added quickly and Kurt was almost a little bit taken back, he wasn't used to guys complimenting his singing.

"Thanks, you are too Puck. I didn't even hear those big clunky combat boots, very impressive." Kurt said, noticing as his compliment forced a tiny smirk to tug up at the corner of Puck's mouth. Wandering what it would be like to kiss those beautiful lips, he stared for a moment with glazed over eyes before shaking the thoughts from his head. "Where is it? My phone, I don't have all night." Kurt said as he stood up from the piano stool and rubbed his forehead, part of him didn't want to leave but he could feel a stupid decision coming on and he wouldn't be able to stop it if he stayed here for much longer. At his words Kurt saw Puck's face fall a little bit, obviously more than a little disappointed which was more than a little weird.

"I don't think so." Puck said, getting up from the couch to cross the room and sit at the piano stool, patting the space beside him. "We've got a Glee Project to work on." Puck says, cocking an eyebrow at the boy when in fact he didn't give a rats ass about any Glee Project, it was all part of his master plan to taste those pretty lips. Puck wandered distantly if Kurt wore cherry lip gloss like some girls did, he really liked cherries and looking at those beautiful lips it's really all he could think of. Kurt rolled his eyes as he swallowed a heavy lump in his throat, taking a seat next to Puck on the piano stool. He could feel their legs touching and the small amount of contact sent a kind of electric charge across his skin making it get really warm as Kurt's heart beat hard in his chest.

"You're unbelievable." Kurt said with a huff, trying to be angry at Puck. The guy had stolen his phone and was refusing to give it back, in all rights he should be furious with him but lately he'd been having a hard time staying angry with him.

"You should see me in bed Princess." Puck said, watching Kurt from the corner of his eye as that red blush covered the soprano's face. That blush made his thoughts run wild as he wandered how far down that blush went. Kurt's breathing stopped for a second and for a few moments he wasn't sure if maybe his heart had to.

"Don't call me Princess." Kurt said tiredly as his fingers ran over a few keys, doing a couple scales as part of a warm up to get them going. Puck gave him an incredulous look, a little irritated that he'd chosen that part of his sentence to focus on.

"You don't make any sense." Puck said with an exasperated sigh turning his body and putting his elbow on the key cover of the piano, his toned body hovering over the keys. More of his leg pressed against Kurt's body and Kurt was positive that Puck was staring at his very prominent blush as he tried his best not to get distracted by how unbelievably close Puck was to him. Kurt stopped playing as his burning hot gaze lowered on Puck; he was getting really sick of hearing him say that.

"Why? Why don't I make any sense?" Kurt asked, raising his voice as he felt his temper starting to rise again, he was getting sick of the situation. Puck was teasing him physically about his sexuality and hadn't stopped with the patronizing nicknames, not once. Kurt saw Puck flinch a little bit at Kurt's sudden outburst but then he just seemed to stare at Kurt with a very peculiar look in his eyes.

"You're hot when you're mad." Puck said as Kurt noticed that Puck was staring at his lips with a fixated stare, completely avoiding his question. Puck's eyes fluttered closed as he slowly leaned in towards Kurt, who seemed to just stare at Puck with wide eyes before pulling his head back. As badly as he wanted to, he wasn't going to compromise himself for Puck's stupid joke and he wasn't going to play into this plan. Puck seemed to realize that he'd leaned forward too much and his eyes opened before he pulled away, staring with confused yet angry eyes at Kurt. According to Puck no one had ever turned him down and rejection was really not something he took well, especially what happened with Quinn last year. "Dude what the hell?" Puck asked, cocking his eyebrow at the soprano as he leaned back a little bit, content with the fact that Kurt didn't seem to notice that Puck was now straddling the bench, his body maybe an inch from Kurt's.

"Don't call me that Puckerman." Kurt said with a sigh, feeling his whole body getting hot with Puck so damn close to him. He slid a couple inches away but Puck only moved in closer and it was becoming unbearable for him to be this close, Kurt couldn't take much more of it. Guys, no matter what the joke was, they never got this close to him for such a long period of time.

"Whatever Hummel." Puck said simply as his right arm rested across the piano cover, while his left hand ghosted his calloused finger tips over the sleeve of Kurt's sweater. Instantly Kurt stood up and walked towards the wall, spinning on Puck as he felt anger swelling in him again, though his composure was quickly crumbling as he looked at Puck's beautifully sculpted body, remembering that moment in the shower again.

"Stop Noah." Kurt heard himself say, his hand instantly coming up to cup his mouth; he'd never said that before. Not even in his mind and there was an instant mixture of unreadable emotions that shot across Puck's face. He was off the stool in an instant and had Kurt's wrists pinned over his head. There was a mildly sadistic look on Puck's face as he looked at Kurt with hate filled eyes. The look didn't last long and it quickly melted away into a smile as Puck's lips hovered just inches from Kurt's, his hot breath ghosting over Kurt's porcelain skin.

"Noah eh? Why do I have to stop? I know you want this Kurt. I just wanna taste those lips…" Puck said as he lowered his mouth to plant a single kiss at the base of Kurt's neck, eliciting a soft moan almost instantly as all the blood rushed to Kurt's groin.

"Because I've never been kissed before." Kurt said as his eyelids fluttered shut and Puck pulled away to stare at Kurt with a bewildered expression. "At least… not when it mattered." Kurt added softly, not able to look Puck in the eyes when he spoke, feeling his own virginal shame written right across his face. "I've never even been this close to another guy." Kurt said as a smile spread across Puck's lips, one that made Kurt turn about five different shades of red as Puck started cackling with laughter.

"Wow Kurt… I guess that uh makes sense… I just never even thought… huh." Puck said, letting Kurt's name flow off of his tongue as he kind of thought about the whole situation. It made sense that Kurt wouldn't have kissed a boy before since he was like the only gay kid in the entire school, maybe even the city.

"It's not funny." Kurt said simply, the use of his name not going unnoticed at all. He couldn't look at Puck and he was relieved when he let go of his wrists and Kurt let them drop to his sides. Puck didn't back off though, he pressed his body to Kurt's, those calloused fingers coming up to stroke the side of the beautiful face, the mood in the air changing completely. In a few moments it had gone from kind of needy and dark to something a little bit more romantic, more fitting for a first kiss. _Stop pushing him away!_ Kurt screamed at himself internally as his tongue darted out to trace along his lips.

"Let me be your first kiss then Kurt. Not only do I owe you, but I want to." Puck said his burning hot breath ghosting over the shell of Kurt's ear. One hand resting on Kurt's hip while the other cupped his porcelain cheek. Kurt swallowed a heavy lump in his throat as he pushed out what the entire world would say if they found out. That he'd infected Puck with the gay or that Kurt was desperate and maybe he was. Everyone had or had had someone in the past and it wasn't fair, for once he wanted to feel like the guy who came in the first, the one that was someone's first and only choice, even if he was just lying to himself.

"Okay." Kurt said softly as Puck lifted his head away from Kurt's ear, pressing their foreheads together as that intoxicating breath moved over his sensitive skin. "Kiss me Noah." Kurt added softly before Puck wasted no time in pressing his lips to Kurt's, not moving them at first as Kurt instantly let out a low moan. His hands twitched a little bit as he felt the urge to grip those strong muscles and press him as tightly against him as he possibly could. Kurt could feel Puck smirking against his lips before Puck finally started moving them. He was tentative at first as he let his chapped lips explore Kurt's cherry flavored ones. He's been spot on with that one, it was faint but it was definitely there and it was absolutely delicious.

"Touch me." Puck half growled as Kurt let out another small moan, not wasting any time in reaching behind Puck to grip at those strong back muscles. Puck's tongue darted across Kurt's bottom lip and Kurt knew that he was asking for entrance and at the moment, he was more than happy to oblige. He opened his mouth to Puck, letting him slip his tongue in to explore his mouth and lead in the kiss. Kurt tried to be as not awkward as possible when he kissed Puck, this was his first kiss and he doubted he was doing all that great. He felt Puck moan into his mouth as Puck's hand wandered down to the other hip as he pulled Kurt back, sitting on the couch and taking Kurt with him.

Kurt straddled Puck's waist as he moved his lips in time with Puck, finally getting the rhythm as he moved his mouth methodically against his. Kurt cupped Puck's handsome face in both of his hands, almost panting as he took over the kiss, letting his tongue wander into Puck's mouth and began massaging that warm, slick tongue. Kurt felt strong hands at his upper back start to slide down and Kurt couldn't help but roll his hips against Puck's feeling that he was quite clearly really enjoying himself. Puck's manhood had been impressive flaccid, but he could feel it over the jeans and it was gargantuan to say the least. Those strong hands wandered down to cup his round ass and squeeze a little bit making Kurt jump as he reached back and moved those hands back up. That was too much too fast, for now he'd like to just focus on the kissing. Kurt was a little surprised that Puck didn't even complain about the lack of rounding past first base but he was glad. Kurt finally pulled his lips off of his as he stared with lust blown eyes at the very hot and bothered man beneath him.

"Babe… sure that was your first time..?" Puck asked as he stared with equally lust blown eyes up at Kurt, who was still rolling his hips over Puck's groin at an almost agonizing pace. _Babe?_ Kurt thought as he rolled off of Puck and turned on his side to face the half-back.

"Yeah I'm positive." Kurt said with a small smile, he was glad that all the fantasizing about his first kiss had paid off, he'd always worried that he'd be some clumsy drooling mess. Puck grabbed Kurt as he laid back on the couch, pulling him beside him as his hand rested on that slender waist that was still covered in that pesky knee length sweater.

"I'm so turned on right now." Puck said huskily as he pressed his lips to Kurt's neck, nibbling slightly on the sensitive skin there. Puck slowly pushed his hips against Kurt's just now noticing the prominent erection beneath Kurt's skinny jeans and sweater. He smirked; clearly pleased that he'd had the same effect on Kurt that Kurt's had on him. Puck's mind distantly wandered to the dream he had, so far it had all been true, now he just had to find out about those abs. Puck's fingers glided slowly up the red sweater before Kurt helped him take it off and laid it over the back of the couch.

Kurt wasn't really sure how to react, he wasn't sure how far this was going to go or even how far he was willing to go. He felt Puck's fingers on his dress shirt now and he froze before his hand came up to swat the hand away, he wasn't going to get naked with Puck that much he knew for sure. He saw the frown that Puck got on his face and Kurt melted a little bit as he stared into those deep brown eyes.

"Nothing below the waist." Puck said softly, picking up on what Kurt's concerns were, he was after all a virgin and after receiving a nod from Kurt, he instantly set to work on that pesky shirt before taking it off and draping it beside the sweater. His dream had been spot on because although Kurt was slender, he had a slamming body, one that made his tongue dart out to lick at his lips. Puck went to pull his own shirt off but Kurt knocked the hands away, wanting to do it himself.

"Let's go upstairs." Kurt said feeling a little squished on the small couch and also a little paranoid that someone could just look through the window or walk through the front door.

"Yes sir." Puck said with a smirk as he shot up instantly, grabbing Kurt's hand and practically pulling Kurt up the stairs and locking lips with him as soon as they made it into his bedroom. Kurt was feeling much more confident now as they stood in the middle of Puck's room, Kurt with no shirt on and Puck with far too many clothes. Which was kind of unfair considering that this was Kurt's first time doing any amount of fooling around. Kurt pulls Puck's wife beater over his head and tosses it behind him before he pushes Puck down onto the bed. Puck lands there with a wide smirk as he folds his arms behind his head, his tongue coming out to dart across his lips.

Kurt stares with lust blown eyes at the sight beneath him and he can't help but feel something stirring inside of him. This was all so wrong, Puck was straight and Kurt had values, values that superseded basic carnal needs and he needed to remember that. He let out a sigh as he stared at Puck and his bed, thinking distantly about all the girls who'd probably been made to feel special and been brought up here to do the deed. He wasn't going to be that person and he also knew from personal experience that being gay wasn't easy and it wasn't something Puck could handle, especially since it would probably be worse for him.

"I can't do this." Kurt says softly, making Puck's face instantly drop when he does before he gets to his feet. "I need my phone." Kurt adds as he reaches out his hand, Puck's brow furrows as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out Kurt's phone before handing it to him. Puck is trying to find some words to convince Kurt to stay, to finish what they started but he can't he just stares. He moves to take a step closer and Kurt puts up his hand. "We're even now, please don't follow me." Kurt says, struggling to keep his composure as he turns and walks out of the room, going into the living room to pull on his clothes before leaving the Puckerman household.

Puck glares at the spot where Hummel left the room, his cock still very hard in his shorts. He lets out an aggravated sigh as he drops them and flops on the bed. He's pissed at Hummel for walking out like that though he isn't entirely sure why. The two of them were hardly friends and that's it, he had no legitimate reason to be angry. Kurt had no responsibility for Puck, he was free to do whatever he wanted and yet still he was oddly angry.

Puck pumped at his big angry red dick furiously as he took his pent up frustrations out, letting his own experienced hand bring himself to a roaring climax. The whole time he can't stop thinking about Kurt's hot little body, pressed against his and what those rosy red lips would look like wrapped around his pulsing manhood. It's a thought that he can't get out of his head, even as he lays there tired and spent, abs and torso soaked in cum. If Hummel was here right now he could hold the slender boy in his arms, unfortunately he'd left. He'd left with barely even saying a goodbye.

When Kurt got home he went straight for the basement and sank into his bed, instantly feeling a massive supply of tears beginning to swell. He hadn't cried over a guy since Finn had screamed at him last year and even then it was more just a reaction to the situation. This was different though; he'd had his first kiss and felt something with Puck. He was falling for another straight guy and he, Kurt Hummel was a complete idiot and glutton for punishment. Puck was just a whore who probably wanted to get off and Kurt was the closest warm body and Kurt had been stupid enough to fall for it. Now his first kiss was lost forever to a boy who would never reciprocate his feelings because he'd already learned last year that you can't force somebody to love you, no matter how right it may feel to you.

The rest of the week was awkward between the two of them to say the least; Kurt completely ignored Puck any and all times that he spoke. When Puck tried to congratulate him on getting the Glee Club to do a Britney number Kurt still ignored him, which had taken a whole lot of convincing on Kurt's part. It wasn't until the beginning of the following week when Puck managed to find Kurt alone after school.

"What the hell dude?" Puck asked as he slammed Kurt's locker door right after he opened it and proceeded to stand in front of it. Kurt quickly looked around, checking to see if there were any curious eyes watching them. Relieved to see that the coast was clear, his eyes narrowed on Puck's.

"Don't call me dude." Kurt said simply, his tone laced with venomous ice as he spoke. Puck just stared at him with a clearly pissed off expression on his face. "Do you need something Puckerman?" Kurt asked letting out an exasperated sigh, trying to sound as disinterested as possible though his heart was beating furiously in his chest.

"You walk out on me the other night, you don't answer my texts, and you won't even speak to me. Not cool man." Puck said shaking his head with his brow still deeply furrowed as he stares intently into Kurt's sparkling green eyes. Suddenly it's hard to be angry when Kurt is… well just looking at him.

"What do you want me to say Puck? I'm not going to be like those slutty girls you use to add to your kill count and I'm not going to let you take advantage of me like you did Quinn." Kurt said, he tried to keep every speck of emotion he had in complete control as he spoke, he wasn't going to break during something so important. "You're hot okay. There I can admit it, I'm really, really attracted to you but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." Kurt added while Puck just gave him a quizzical expression before cocking an eyebrow at him.

"You think I was using you? So wasn't. I know I'm not very bright and big questions confuse me but I always know what I feel. I felt good the other night." Puck said trying to formulate the confusing thoughts that were in his head he couldn't handle a label right now. All he wanted was to keep feeling good and he hadn't felt good about himself in a long time, honestly he'd just been depressed.

"I'm sorry Puck but I- I just can't trust you." Kurt said softly looking down for a second at his feet before his eyes came back up to meet with Puck's. The two seemed completely unaware of the pair of jealous eyes that seemed to be watching them from around the corner, eyes transfixed and full of rage.

"Then let me prove it to you Kurt, let's go out or… something." Puck said as he tried to think of what on earth Kurt would actually want to do outside of school. He knew the guy liked musicals and fashion but to his knowledge Lima was kinda low on those kinds of things. Kurt though felt a small smile tug at his lips as Puck actually used his name again, something he got way too giddy over.

"I'm going to 'Sing_ Along Sound of Music' _On Friday so if you want to join me… No one else will agree to go with me. I was just going to go by myself; I don't think it's your thing though." Kurt said, a little bashfully as he looked down at his feet, kicking at imaginable dirt when he dirt. Kurt felt calloused fingers on his chin as they tilted it up to look Puck in the eyes.

"Hey, if it's your thing it's my thing. I'm so there." Puck said as a smirk crawled across his lips before he pressed a single light kiss to Kurt's lips. Making the soprano's eyelids flutter closed when he did. "See ya later Princess." Puck said as he stalked away from Kurt, tossing a wink over his shoulder while Kurt was left standing there with a very prominent blush on his face.


	5. Of The Most Difficult Song I've Ever Sun

A/N/ WARNING: So this episode is going to be a little… rough. It was actually painful to write this but is critical to their relationship development. So I won't spoil anything but this chapter is not for the faint of heart.

Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas are the rights to Glee… its July so that's not going to happen for a while. So as of right now I do not own Glee.

Happy Reading!

The familiar sound of '_Chasing Pavements'_ filtered through Kurt's room as he groaned before sitting up in his bed. Kurt flopped back down onto his plush pillows, staring up at the stark white ceiling as he tried to gather up the determination to pull himself out of bed and get ready for the day. There was a lot to his morning routine and laying there certainly wasn't going to accomplish anything, for him getting up was a lot like pulling off a band aid. You just had to pull it off and bite the bullet rather than slowly prolong it. Kurt rolled out of bed about thirty seconds into the song, once his feet hit the soft carpet he arched his back and stretched his long arms high over his head. He heard very tiny cracks before he straightened himself and headed for the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth and maybe shave some of the peach fuzz that had grown over the course of the night.

When Kurt stepped out of the steamy bathroom, white bathrobe tied firmly around his body, he took a seat at his vanity. Applying his daily moisturizers to help brighten his rather tired looking face he couldn't help but let out an exasperated sigh. _Why do I bother?_ He thought to himself, a thought that had crossed his mind on more than a few occasions. It was a question that he'd asked himself time and time again and was yet to find an answer. He was always striving for perfection; sure looking a certain way gave him more confidence but confidence for what? It's not like he ever had a solo in Glee Club, it's not like he had a boyfriend… _Well, not yet I don't._ Kurt thought as a smile crept across his face, finding an answer to the questions he'd been asking himself more and more lately.

Kurt swung his messenger bag over his shoulder as he climbed his stairs two at a time, rounding into the kitchen to grab an apple or something before he left. Opening the fridge he eyed his Father's premade lunch still sitting on the top shelf. Rolling his eyes at his Father's forgetfulness he grabbed the brown paper bag and an apple before he headed out to his '_Navigator'_, he'd need to drive over to the shop before school. If he hurried then he would hopefully get there just in time, it was a shame because he kind of wanted to meet up with Puck before school. _Noah…_ Kurt thought to himself as he sat behind the wheel of his car and headed towards his Father's shop. _I could get used to calling him that._ Kurt added mentally as he rolled his tongue a bit, remembering how easily the name had flowed from his tongue a few days before.

Kurt felt his phone vibrate when he pulled up to the car garage and once he parked he grabbed it off of the seat beside him and looked at his phone, he quirked an eyebrow at the name, realizing almost instantly that Puck must've changed it.

Booty Call: _Where u at?_

Kurt: _ Just dropping something off at my Dad's shop. Be there soonish._

Kurt looked at his phone and let out an exasperated sigh, there was no way he was going to leave that in there. If somebody saw, that'd be absolutely mortifying, he would give Puck the courtesy of an actual nickname because contrary to what he thought in the past. He wasn't a total idiot and there was… something there that Kurt couldn't quite place his finger on, it was deeper and softer than you'd expect.

Puck: _Kk. Ill wait at ur locker._

Kurt: _Okay, I might be late though…_

Puck: _It's cool._

Kurt couldn't help but smile as he climbed out of his car and headed inside to bring his Father his lunch. He however, was not pleased to hear that he was expected to have dinner with Finn and Carole Friday night instead of going to the show, with Puck. Nobody knew that he was going on a date with the 'Sex Shark' of McKinley and he intended to keep it that way. He also had no intentions of blowing him off for some stupid, it was ridiculous. Kurt felt his feet hit the concrete hard, as he pounded towards his car, getting in and slamming the door before pulling out and away. His hands clenched around the steering wheel as he glared daggers at the road ahead of him, driving much faster than he probably should. Though it was because of the fact that he was going well over the speed limit that he made it to every green light on the way to school and managed to somehow still have five minutes to spare.

Kurt slipped out of his baby and made his way towards the dumpster at the front of the school, completely oblivious to the pair of dark eyes that followed him, keeping a safe distance with his backpack slung over one shoulder. Teeth clenching when he saw Puck fall in step beside Kurt, the sex shark was carrying a purple slushy in his hands and a devilish thought crossed the stalker's mind.

"For me?" Kurt asked, cocking an eyebrow at Puck as he handed him a grape slushy, not his favorite and it was a little early for a sweet drink. Still though, even if he had no intention of drinking it, it was a very kind gesture and a step in the right direction for… Noah.

"Of course Princess." Puck said as he went to hand Kurt the slushy, while the pale-skinned boy just rolled his eyes at the nickname that Puck wouldn't give up on. He reached out for the slushy but it was gone and tossed in Puck's face before his fingers could even wrap around it. His eyes went wide as he saw the look of pure shock as the icy drink went all over Puckerman's face and shirt.

"Taste good Puckerman?" Karofsky asked with a big smirk on his face, walking backwards towards the school with his arms open on either side of his body like he was taunting the half-back. Kurt saw the look of surprise quickly dissolve into pure fury as he narrowed his brow at his team mate, hunching his shoulders as he went to take a step towards Dave. Kurt's arm gripped his forearm instantly, forcing eye contact as he stared deep into Puck's hate-filled brown eyes.

"Don't." Was all Kurt said before seeing Puck's eyes soften almost instantly as Kurt's hand slipped off of his arm. Puck looked over at Karofsky who had a confusing look on his face that neither Glee Clubber could quite place before Dave turned around and walked into the school. Kurt let out a deep breath when Puck turned back to look at him, covered in the vile sticky purple solution that Kurt knew was going to stain.

"Let's get you cleaned up." Kurt said softly as Puck nodded, looking down at the sticky mess of himself before wiping it from his face. Kurt lead the charge to the bathroom as the pair stalked the halls while people rushed to get to their classes. Once again Kurt was going to be late, but he didn't so much mind, he felt bad after all. If it wasn't for him, Karofsky never would've tossed that slushy in Puck's face; he probably would've just waited until Kurt was inside and thrown him against the lockers.

"God I'm a fucking mess!" Puck yelled into the empty bathroom as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His ears perked when he heard the click of the lock on the bathroom door, he turned to Kurt with a purple smirk on his face. "Wanky…" Puck said with a slight raise of his eyebrow as he leaned against the porcelain sink.

"Please. It's for safe measure; I really don't think you'd want somebody to walk in on me washing your hair." Kurt stated with a roll of his eyes and in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. He took a few steps and grabbed the fold out chair that most kids kept in the bathroom for exactly these kinds of reasons. Puck almost pouted a little bit but Kurt just raised his eyebrow at him and gestured towards the seat.

"This is the worst date ever." Puck said as he sat down, fake sulking before he leaned back and put his head in the sink. Kurt couldn't help but feel a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. _He WOULD consider this a date _Kurt thought to himself as he turned some warm water on and grabbed a few face cloths from his messenger bag. Once again he was more than prepared as he moistened the cloth a little bit and touched the warm fabric to Puck's face. All the while Puck stared at Kurt's face with a quizzical expression on his face. "What are you thinking about?" Puck asked as his eyes focused a little bit in the way Kurt's eyes lashes would flutter when he was thinking about something. _What?_ Kurt suddenly thought as he made eye contact with Puck again, noticing now the way he was watching him, it was actually a little unnerving to just have somebody blatantly staring at you.

"Nothing." Kurt said flatly, his tone was fairly void of anything as he wiped at the now dried syrup on Puck's face. _If he doesn't stop staring at me like that I'm getting up. And leaving._ Kurt thought to himself as he pushed at a particularly difficult spot of purple dye.

"See that's why you don't make any sense." Puck said suddenly, making Kurt drop the cloth in the sink, his eyes leveling on Puck's.

"Excuse me?" Kurt said, more than a little bit offended. _Why does he keep saying that. How do I 'NOT MAKE SENSE?' _Kurt thought to himself as his icy eyes bore deep holes in Puck's earthy browns, suddenly not afraid of maintaining Puck's gaze. Surprisingly it was Puck who broke the stare first, letting out a sigh as he looked down at the ground, his chin lowering a bit as he did.

"You always say the opposite of what you mean. I call you 'dude' you tell me not to call you that, then I call you Princess and you say no to that, then I call you Kurt which is apparently okay. Then I call you Princess again and you don't say anything at all. I try to make out with you and you say no because we aren't dating, then we agree to go on a date and you still won't make out with me… Now when I say something stupid you won't say anything, then when I ask you to tell me what you're thinking about you say you aren't thinking about anything. Which by the way. I'm pretty sure isn't possible." Puck said, finishing finally and taking a bit of a breath, he hadn't meant to just ramble on and on. "You never say what you mean and it's kind of confusing, I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I'm not psychic either…" Puck said kind of looking away as Kurt thought he saw a small pink tinge just above his cheeks. It was cute, what Puck was having such a hard time trying to say, I a way maybe he was kind of confusing. He'd always kind of hated Puck and was used to not saying things out loud to him, more just in his head or when he was alone with his thoughts.

"First of all, this isn't a date. So you can't exactly say that we're 'dating'. Secondly I don't talk about my feelings a lot with anyone, but I like you I guess." Kurt said simply, feeling kind of awkward as he placed his hand on Puck's sticky cheek, leaning in and pressing a small kiss to Puck's chapped lips.

"No big deal." Puck said with a roll of his shoulders which Kurt felt himself almost break down and start laughing.

"Yeah no big deal." Kurt said as he leaned in to kiss Puck again, this time with more a small smile on his face and more vigor as he did. Opening his mouth up as Puck slid his tongue into Kurt's mouth to explore that small, moist cavern. Kurt was the first to pull away before leaning in and placing one soft last kiss, almost like it was a signature. "Okay we need to hurry; I don't want to miss all of Chem… I think we're starting to look suspicious." Kurt said as he sat a little bit on Puck's lap as he used his hands to pour water over Puck's head, using the cloth to get the rest of the syrup off of his head. Kurt looked at the white T and decided that it was definitely ruined, not to mention Puck had obviously washed it with some darks or a pair of jeans or something because it wasn't white enough.

"Like what you see?" Puck asked, mistaking Kurt's look as him checking him out. Kurt only rolled his eyes as Puck pulled the shirt off of his head and bring his hands to rest on Kurt's hips. "Why do we need to go again?" Puck asked cocking his eyebrow at Kurt as he pulled him onto his hips a little bit more. Kurt thought distantly to the hoody he actually kept in his locker for occasions such as these, it would most certainly fit Puck considering it was actually an old sweater of his Dad's. It wasn't too horrendous because it was just a simple black hoody, Kurt usually only wore it when something of his was ruined and he didn't have a change of clothes. Kurt's mind went completely blank though when his eyes travelled up and down that delicious piece of sculpted man in front of him. "It's a shame we're not dating, because dating means you have full access…" Puck said kind of slyly as he brushed his thumb up and down Kurt's side.

"Shut up." Kurt said as he sank down on Puck's lips who laughed into the kiss before he started to return it while Kurt shifted more comfortably onto Puck's lap. Puck's strong hands wandered up and down Kurt's sides as they massaged their lips together with a practice ease, going at a slow pace. They knew that first period was a write off so the two of them had plenty of time to get all the syrup off of Puck's chest too…

Kurt giggled as he ran back into the bathroom, clutching his sweater when he heard the bell ring, just as he closed the door and tossed Puck the sweater. Puck looked oddly satisfied when Kurt looked at him and for some reason he was coming out of the stall instead of being at the sink where Kurt had left him. Kurt glanced down and smirked, when he'd left him Puck was very much turned on, Kurt was to but he definitely wasn't ready for anything below the waist, especially in the boy's bathroom.

"Alright well… text me." Kurt said with a smile, his eyes fixed on the small wet spot on Puck's groin, understanding completely why Puck looked like he'd just run a marathon, Kurt had been gone all of two minutes.

"Wait I'll walk you to class." Puck said as he pulled the sweater over his head and adjusted the faded black sweater, it was clearly well worn and still very soft.

"You have gym and I have French, two opposite sides of the school. You know what'll happen if you're late." Kurt said, remembering the laps that Puck often complained about when he was late for Beiste's gym class. "I'll wait for you afterwards though… We can even fool around some more…" Kurt said, raising a suggestive eyebrow at Puck before slipping out of the boy's bathroom.

"Fucking tease." Puck said with a shake of his head and a broad smirk on his face, pulling open the door and disappearing into the sea of students.

Kurt remembered the moment vividly when he found out his Father was in the hospital, he'd been bragging to Azimio about going to see the '_Sound of Music'_ with the boy of his dreams. The whole thing was in French and Azimio happened to be probably the densest football player he'd ever met. Why he was in his advanced French class he never knew and why in god's name he hadn't dropped it yet was even more surprising.

He was pulled out of class by Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury that was when they told him about the attack. In that moment his entire world fell apart, remembering when he'd been delivered the same news about his Mother. He was young then, he believed that things worked out for the better that she would have to be okay. Since he loved her and she was his Mom there was no way she could just die, things like that just didn't happen. He was eight years old and he was very naïve, he was older now and had figured out that there is nothing in the world that is guaranteed. There was no divine rule that said people were going to end up okay, it was all a random cycle of events. Some were winners and some were losers and that was just the unfortunate way that life worked.

It was that moment that brought him to his Father's bed side, watching as his chest rose and fell with what sounded like a large amount of labor. Kurt stared blankly at the nearly still frame of his Father, willing with everything he could that he'd wake up. Mr. Schuester and Mr. Pillsbury had long gone home and now it was just him and his Father, alone in this horribly sterile room. A room that he'd prayed every day that he wouldn't have to visit again.

"I told you not to work so hard." Kurt said softly, feeling like he had to say this, he had to get it off of his chest. Kurt had been trying his entire life to get his Father to eat healthy, to be active and not to work such long hours. Yet he still ate pizza and bought donuts on a daily basis, never exercised and worked twelve hours a day six days a week. "I tried so hard to keep this from -happening." Kurt said as his face fell into his hand, tears instantly falling from his face as he gasped. "What am I supposed to do?" Kurt asked, forcing himself to stare at his Father's emotionless face, before he finally rose to his feet. "Huh? What am I supposed to do now?" Kurt asked again, almost actually expecting his comatose Father to offer him some kind of answer. What was he supposed to do? Go home to an empty house and stare at all the pictures of him and his two dead parents? Kurt didn't realize he'd fallen to his Father's bedside, sobbing until he heard the door open, getting up on shaky legs almost instantly he turned to look at the wall.

"Kurt?" Came Puck's soft voice as he took a few tentative steps towards him, Kurt wanted to turn around and run into Puck's arms. He wanted him to make him feel better but he just couldn't, he wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing tight as he tried to stop himself from shaking.

"You should leave." Kurt said quietly, his voice shaking as he spoke. He couldn't look at Puck as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the wall in front of him as he rested his forehead against the cool wall. "Please, just go." Kurt said, shutting his eyes as he tried to bring himself somewhere else, somewhere that wasn't this sad cold hospital room, the room that smelled like death and a hint of his Father.

"Kurt-I I don't want to just leave." Puck said as he put his hand on Kurt's shoulder, contact which Kurt instantly moved his arm out of. Kurt couldn't be touched right now, if he let Puck comfort him he knew he'd crumble into nothing and he would never be able to put himself back together. Kurt straightened as he sniffed a little bit, now was not the time to have a break down. He had to call relatives and tell them what was going on, there were Doctor's asking him about things like 'health insurance' and 'medical coverage.' Kurt watched enough Grey's Anatomy to know that his Dad would be out of money fast, especially since they didn't have any coverage with Kurt's Dad being self-employed. .

"I'll call you okay? Just let me be alone with my Father." Kurt said, looking over his shoulder with clear, watery eyes and locking them with Puck's. "Please." He added, though his voice was barely above a whisper. "You don't know what it's like, watching someone die right in front of you. First my Mom, now my Dad." Kurt's face crumpled slightly but he denied the tears anything, he wouldn't let a single one fall as he took in a few deep breaths.

"Yes. I couldn't possibly understand." Puck said bluntly, his brow furrowing a little bit at Kurt. "Because having a parent leave you by choice. Is so much easier" Puck said, turning away from Kurt and away from his Father. This wasn't him, he was the Sex Shark that banged chicks and cleaned pools. He didn't give a crap about the school gay kid or his Father. He wasn't the guy that stuck around when things got tough, like Father like son. Puck put his hand on the door knob and heard Kurt take in a sharp breath of air at the noise. He knew Kurt didn't want him to leave, it was one of those things where he didn't say what he meant or wanted. Puck just couldn't give him what he needed right no.

"I'm sorry Puck." Kurt said softly as he sank back into his chair and rested his head on his one hand, trying to supress a massive headache that was threatening the edges of his mind. Kurt finally exhaled when he heard the door shut behind Puck, he closed his eyes and let his consciousness drift off to a safe place.

_2 Days Later_

Puck stumbled stepped out of his truck, his feet landing on the black asphalt of the synagogue. He wasn't totally sure what he was doing here, he only went to temple with his Nana and that was next to never. In a way he was just out of options, he couldn't be there for Kurt and he wasn't a doctor or anything fancy like that. He was just a guy who was great at very few things, but what he was great at, he was mind-blowing at. Not that that would help in this situation.

Puck pulled open the synagogue door as he started to walk down the aisle, taking a seat in the front pyre. The temple was completely deserted, and very dark, save for a few dim lights that were on around the room. Puck cleared his thought, not totally sure if he was supposed to say it in his head really loud or out loud, he was pretty sure this was his first time actually praying.

"Are you there God? It's me… Noah Puckerman…" Puck said, closing his eyes as he folded his hands in front of him. Not totally sure what was supposed to happen, he was half sure that you just spoke and like Jew God heard you or some shit like that. "I need like a favor, or prayer answered or something." Puck's voice was kind of husky as he sniffed lightly, feeling the back of his throat swell a little bit.

"You okay son?" An older voice said from in front of him, Puck's first thought was that it was God as his head snapped up to see the Rabi in front of him. A look of pure curiosity on his face as he eyed Puck, which is when he realized how absolutely ridiculous this was. Puck blushed as he stood up, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at the floor. "I'm just gonna go." Puck said clearing his throat as he turned down the aisle and started back down the pyres.

"You don't have to come here to pray you know. God is always listening, but he won't do anybody any favors." The Rabi said softly, making Puck stop in his tracks as he looked back to look at the very much older man.

"It's not for me, it's for a guy I know… he… he's had some pretty rough stuff happen to him in the past and now… now his Dad's hurt and might not make it." Puck said, surprised at the honesty behind his voice, he didn't know this man and Puck really had no business just confiding in him, Except as a Rabi it was kind of his job to help people with their problems…

"Your friend sounds like he must be very strong." The Rabi said, tilting his bearded head to the side a little bit as he examined the burly boy in front of him. Clearly of Jewish descent and looked vaguely familiar, but obviously not the brightest of light bulbs. "Those are the ones that need the most help." He added, words that kind of surprised Puck, Kurt had never asked for a single thing from him, from anyone actually. "They keep everything where no one can see it, they don't show their emotions because they think that keeping them inside will keep them strong. It might work for a while sure, everyone can only take so much and this 'friend' of yours sounds like he's about at his limit." The Rabi said as he turned away from Puck and walking back through the way he came, through a large wooden door into a back room. Not open to anyone who wasn't a member of the synagogue.

Puck stared at the space where the Rabi disappeared, he watched with a blank stare as he felt gears in his head start to turn. Kurt needed his help, but the boy wouldn't let him come close to him with flinching a recoiling. He needed to show him that he was there for him no matter what happened and he'd be whatever he needed him to be.

_1 Day Later_

Puck pulled up to the almost empty Hummel household, though you wouldn't be able to tell since every light in the house was on. Puck grabbed his guitar case as he got out of his truck, taking a few tentative steps towards the house. Puck cleared his throat as he knocked a couple times on the door, he heard the volume on the TV go down and then the door swung open.

"Noah?" Kurt said, his face red a blotchy as he stared at Puck with clear blue eyes, the kind of clear blue that only happened when someone with light coloured eyes had been crying hard. Puck didn't give him a chance to say anything else as he instantly started playing the opening chords on his guitar.

"_When you try your best, but you don't succeed_

_When you get what you want, but not what you need_

_When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep_

_Stuck in reverse"_

Puck sang, his eyes locked onto Kurt's as he sang, his voice easily slipping into a practiced falsetto. His fingers gliding effortlessly on the neck of his guitar as Kurt stared at him with wide eyes.

"_And the tears come streaming down your face_

_When you lose something you can't replace_

_When you love someone, but it goes to waste_

_Could it be worse?"_

Puck sang, his eyes watering as he started thinking about how upset he was when his Father had walked out on them. He couldn't even imagine what it must've been like to watch your Mother die and now watch your Father start to slip away too.

"_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you"_

Puck let his voice carry over the sound of every radio, TV and stereo on in the house. Kurt must really not want to be alone right now and Puck felt terrible that he'd let him deal with this by himself for so long. He needed to make this right, he wasn't going to be pushed away again.

"_And high up above or down below_

_When you're too in love to let it go_

_But if you never try you'll never know_

_Just what you're worth_

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_When you lose something you cannot replace_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_And I.."._

Puck let himself belt these lyrics as the semi-rock part of the song started up. He moved the pick up and down on his axe effortlessly as he kept his fixated gaze on Kurt's wide eyes.

"_Tears stream down on your face_

_I promise you I will learn from my mistakes_

_Tears stream down on your face_

_And I..._

_Lights will guide you home_

_And ignite your bones_

_And I will try to fix you"_

Puck let his voice soften for the last few verses of the song, letting his heart pour out to Kurt as he strummed the last couple chords and swallowed a heavy lump in his throat. "So..?" Puck asked, unsure of Kurt's reaction since he was just sitting there staring at him with those big beautiful eyes that Puck couldn't stop staring at.

"That was beautiful Noah-but I…" Kurt let out a sigh as his eyelids fluttered closed before slowly opening again, a sympathetic look on his face. "My Father woke up tonight, they're keeping him overnight for observation but he'll hopefully be home by tomorrow night." Kurt added, feeling the one corner of his mouth turn up though it was still too early to get too excited. They still had no idea what Burt's living conditions were going to be like.

"Kurt that's-that's awesome." Puck said bewildered as he went to take a step towards Kurt, surprised when the boy took a step back from him.

"It really is." Kurt said softly, a pained look on his face as he spoke. "I can't do this Noah and I'm sorry. I don't have the energy, I now have school, Glee Club, my Father's eating habits to control and I need to work pretty much every day at the shop during my free period and after school till god knows what time." Kurt said, rubbing his forehead roughly as he massaged away a headache that was threatening to return. "We are literally swimming in medical bills and we might lose our house because of it." Kurt forced his eyes to meet Puck's broken brown ovals that made him look like he was watching a train coming straight for him. "I just can't right now… okay?" Kurt added finally as they both took a step away from each other, Puck nodding over and over as if he was forcing something to be understood in his brain.

"It's okay… yeah it's totally fine. Your dad needs you and I don't want to come between that anyways." Puck said turning away and walking towards his truck without looking back as he felt everything inside of him shatter. Kurt needed money? He would get him money.

A/N I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it was very difficult for me to write. So I hope you can appreciate it, anyways please review. Positive or negative I want it all.


	6. Of What it's Like to Sing Without You

A/N: Hey guys just like to apologize for the late update, just had a super crazy few weeks at work… I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about. Anyhoo, thanks again for all the reviews because I was a little worried as to what the reaction to the last chapter would be like. I'm glad it was all so positive and I keep getting more and more people who are following this story which also means a lot to me.

This chapter is going to be a little bit different than what the story has been like thus far. I've mainly been focusing on their interactions with each other, this chapter as well as the next will really add more to their character growth. Which is something that I'm obviously really excited about :P.

Disclaimer: Glee and none of its affiliated characters belong to me, all I have is an over active imagination and a penchant for romance.

Now I've rambled on enough so enjoy :D.

As Kurt rolled out of bed he felt a tiredness already clinging to his body, just at the thought of what the day was going to entail. His dad was coming home in a few hours from the hospital; thankfully a neighbor was going to pick him up while Kurt was at school. Kurt still needed to have something prepared for when his father would get home, he didn't want the man going off his diet the second that he got home. Sliding out of bed, Kurt turned off his dock before it would have a chance to go off and turned the alarm off on his phone. Right now his head hurt far too much to even have to deal with music right now. If Kurt used one hand to count the amount of mornings he'd woken up without music he'd never put a single finger up, this was the first time since probably early middle school. Yet, with everything that'd happened recently he just found that he wasn't really in the mood for music.

After performing his morning ritual Kurt bounded up the stairs, his messenger bag swinging behind him as he did. He prepared a simple breakfast, he scrambled some eggs and put some bacon in the oven to help precook it. The eggs were of course only the whites, while the bacon was turkey. He was hoping that he'd be able to trick his father into eating healthy, which right now seemed like the best option. Kurt put a loaf of flax seed bread on the counter, pulling it out of the freezer when he did. Once the eggs and bacon were cooked he took a couple mouthfuls of the delicious pair before sliding the rest onto a plate. Kurt wrapped the plate in aluminum foil and put a sticky note on it before putting it in the fridge, like always his father could just quickly zap it. Hopefully the older Hummel would have the foresight to first take the aluminum foil off.

Kurt climbed into his baby as he headed towards the shop;, he had to stop off there and call everyone who had appointments that day. He would need to somehow try and reschedule what he could and probably have to turn away a lot of people to competitors, which wasn't something that would sit well with either of the Hummel's. However, Burt was sick and Kurt could only do so much since he had school and Glee Club. Kurt's mind was full and letting distractions… distractions like one Noah Puckerman would keep him from doing everything he needed to for his family and it would ruin him. Now, more than ever, Kurt had to depend on himself, he needed to be strong for his family and not let something as trivial as some boy ruin everything. As Kurt pulled up to his family's tire shop he let out an almost silent sigh before he turned off the engine and slid out of his faithful companion.

For some reason, Kurt found himself taking in all the sights of the Tire Shop, it's not like it had that many exciting things to see. In all likelihood though he could only do so much and the shop would end up going under, this place… it was one of his few sanctuaries. The stalls in the girls' bathroom, his cozy basement bedroom, the stage, and of course this place. He'd spent the greater part of his life here, most days after school and a lot of weekends, it symbolized everything him and his father had ever shared together. Kurt wandered over to the desk and began calling down the long list of clients, most were fairly understanding but there were some who felt it was completely unacceptable.

Kurt groaned as he hung up the phone, having agreed to look at several more vehicles that evening than he wanted to. It was then that Kurt felt himself begin to cry again, he could try to keep it afloat but he was one person, one boy. He was probably one of the more emotionally developed teenage boys in Lima but that meant little. Kurt sank his face into his hands and sobbed, not caring in the least at how splotchy it was probably going to make his face look. He looked at the slightly pathetic reflection in the metal cash register and wanted to just hide in this sanctuary until they came with their red tape and 'foreclosure' sign, but like always Kurt found himself pulling his head up from the desk and drying his now puffy red eyes. He still needed to take the final deposit to the bank so with a small sigh Kurt popped open the cash register, not even noticing that it had been previously pried open with a crow bar.

Kurt's eyes went wide as he stared at the normal day's funds then the very large stack of bills he knew did not belong in there. The register shouldn't have been opened since his Dad got sick which had been over a week ago. His Father had told him that there was about five hundred dollars in the till that had to go to the bank. Kurt counted the stack, blushing when he saw that there was almost eight thousand dollars there, enough to keep their small business afloat for a couple of months while only doing a couple of jobs a day. Kurt felt a smile come to his face, he had no idea where this money had come from and quite frankly he did not exactly care. He quickly filled out the deposit slips and left one copy in the desk drawer with the others and sealed the other two in the deposit bag. He shoved it into his messenger bag before he skipped out of the shop, locking it up tight behind him. He… he was more happy than he ever believed possible, things; everything was turning around for him. One day he was on the verge of losing everything and then the next his life was carrying on completely normal.

Kurt stopped at the bank and deposited the very hefty bag of funds, confident now that everything was in fact, going to be just fine. Kurt glanced at the clock, completely on track; he still had fifteen minutes before school started as he pulled up to McKinley. In all honesty he half expected to see Puck standing there in front of his parking space, waiting for him to walk him to class or there to give him some sort of comfort or maybe even take another stab at asking him out. Kurt sighed, he wasn't sure what he would say now, he was certainly attracted to Puck and there might be more depth to the mohawked teen than Kurt had been led to believe. Kurt had turned the boy down last night because life had seemed so vastly overwhelming that the thought of dating, particularly someone in the closet was far too much for him to stand. Kurt slid out of his truck, feeling that old sense of powerful confidence hanging off of him once again, everything was turning up Hummel. His hips sashayed back and forth in his tight black jeans, his form-fitting green plaid shirt tucked into his pants as his messenger bag swished at his side. His phone came into his hands as he shot off a quick text before tucking it neatly back into his back pocket.

_Kurt: I'm sorry about what I said last night, we should talk after Glee or something…_

He didn't notice the dark pair of eyes reach out with stronger hands and grab him by the waist, Kurt let out a yelp as he was hurled into the dumpster. Kurt heard laughter instantly erupt from a larger group of people, one second he'd been strong then the next he was back to nothing. He laid there for a moment in the dumpster, praying that they would all just stop laughing and leave, but that familiar, burly voice was waiting for action, for a response, he was waiting for tears. That's why today it seemed like half the student body was there laughing, Kurt's stomach turned over several times before he steeled his resolve. He wouldn't let them see him cry, there was no way he could let that stupid brute Dave Karofsky win, no way. Kurt climbed out of the dumpster, fighting tears every step of the way before he landed on his feet and started laughing along. Everyone seemed to get a little uncomfortable as Kurt damn near laughed his ass off then pretended to wipe tears of laughter away.

"Good one Karofsky!" Kurt exclaimed as he headed into the school, feeling like he was going to just die every step of the way. Kurt walked into the school, meeting every single gaze fearlessly as he made his way to his locker, still expecting Puck to be standing there waiting for him and more than a little disappointed that he wasn't. What Kurt said must have really stung and for that Kurt felt a pang of sadness, Puck might have a bit of a soft side but he was still horribly incorrigible and a total caveman, Kurt was determined to stop wasting his thoughts on him. His doc martins clicked against the ceramic tiles of the school as he made his way to his first period class, not in the least bit sure how he's going to make it through the day when at the very start he has to sit beside Noah Puckerman. Though he was the last person to enter the class as the bell went off, Puck was most certainly not in his seat. Kurt quirked an eyebrow before he practically commanded it to go back down, _where in the Hell is he?_ Kurt wondered, but only to himself as he finally took his seat. Kurt could still feel the slight tinge on his cheeks as he listened to what the group of girls were saying about his little 'display' this morning. The tosses had become almost a daily routine for him and for most of the school; few people even went out of their way to make a snarky remark about it. Someone had made sure that most of the school was there and it stung more than anything, none of these people had a shred of decency or respect. Kurt felt his phone buzz as he looked down at the tiny screen.

_Frankenteen: Srry bout wut hppnd dude_

_Kurt: its fine, thanks anyways Finn_

Kurt detested the modern teenagers' way of typing, Finn was already close enough to being illiterate, he really didn't need to try and misspell things.

The rest of the morning went by in a bit of a blur, there were a few times where he caught himself looking for the mohawked boy but he couldn't help but feel like he was only fooling himself when it turned out to be some stupid 'poser' as Puck might have put it.

"White boy where, where you been at lately?" Mercedes asked causing him to half jump while he was putting his textbooks away into his locker. He couldn't help but smile at his very sassy and also quite single best friend. He sighed a little bit before he closed his locker and looped their arms together, making their way together towards the Cafeteria.

"Breaking hearts and looking fabulous of course." Kurt said honestly though Mercedes giggled as if he had been joking. He couldn't help but smile at how easy it was to keep things from people, usually people believed a lie over the truth, especially when the thought of Kurt breaking anyone's heart was rather inconceivable.

"Well you best be puttin' yo home-wreckin' ways down for a bit because I have not been seein' you nearly enough." She said, giving him a bit of a look that made him feel more than a little guilty, they'd barely seen each other this year, he had been busy and everything with his Father had kept him pretty pre-occupied.

"You are so right 'Cedes, this weekend we'll shop till we drop then pay some attractive men to carry us home and give us pedicures." He said with a tiny smile, the two walking in to the cafeteria together, arm in arm. They spotted their gleeful lunch group and made their way towards the small line of students making their way across the many hot plates of food. Kurt made a bit of a face at the massive amounts of tots that Mercedes seemed to always pile on her plate, he'd been meaning to say something to her about her eating habits but had decided against it. He was her friend and more than anything, he didn't want to hurt her feelings, even if she was using food as a boyfriend replacement. He didn't miss for a second the snickers and whispers behind his back, each and every single one sliding into his heart like a knife, every step of the way he just tried to remember that someday, they would all work for him.

"Boy, don't these tots look good? I swear they get better and better every damn day." She said, smiling at the lunch lady as she paid the ridiculous cost of lunch food, there had been many times when Kurt had wanted to bring his own delicious, nutrient dense meal but had always decided against it, he already had to make his Dad's lunch, the school could worry about his. He personally chose the soup of the day _'Red Lentil Soup'_ with a small dinner roll and small carton of white milk. He loved to cook and loved plates that came from different cultures, he smiled at his friend, choosing his words carefully.

"Cedes, you could never be a food critic." He said with a smile that was perhaps a little tight but she laughed anyways, not picking up on the undertone of what it was he'd just said, for which he was grateful for. They took their seats beside each other and Kurt's eyes quickly darted to the other end of the table, not missing the vacant spot that should be filled by Puck. Before he could think about what was coming out of his mouth, he'd asked the question he'd been holding back all day.

"Where's Puck?" Kurt asked, wishing he hadn't said anything as Finn's eyes darted from Rachel's to his almost curiously before he spoke.

"Who knows, probably ditched today." He said simply as his eyes turned back to his overly talented girlfriend's, not wishing to delve too deeply into why Kurt wanted to know where Puck was, then again Finn wasn't really too deep to begin with. Kurt sighed, sure Puck ditched occasionally but he almost always showed up for lunch. _Why do I know that? _Kurt asked himself before he shook the thoughts away and turned once again to Mercedes, whom he'd accidentally been ignoring and started in on his very delicious traditional Jewish soup. Kurt bit back his own stupid pride and took out his phone for the umpteenth time that day.

_Kurt: Why aren't you at school? _

By the end of the day Kurt was exhausted to say the least, he'd sent Puck about a dozen texts and the boy had not replied to a single one, so to say that he was unsurprised by Puck's absence in Glee club was a gross understatement. He took his usual seat in the back of the club and always chose to sit with Mercedes, his longest standing friend in their little rag tag team of misfits. Kurt was barely listening to Mr. Schuester until he heard something that nearly stopped his blood cold. Puck, was in juvenile detention for stealing an ATM. Everything went cloudy for a few seconds, he heard shouting about how they were supposed to win without his stage presence and how typically selfish Puck was being. Kurt couldn't register it though, finally realizing where all that money had come from, tears brimming around his eyes.

Kurt cleared his throat, shaking the Victorian love music that had swooned in his head. Puck was still a caveman, one who turned to crime when he thought he didn't have any options left. A very handsome, dyed blonde head of hair walked into the room, this guy apparently being Puck's replacement. _As if he could be replaced. _Kurt thought to himself as he not-so-discreetly checked out his almost-boyfriend's sub. Sam was good looking enough and by the looks of things, he was an all-star for team gay. He whispered this to Mercedes who gave him a bit of an incredulous look but just chose to fight the protests that were brewing inside of her.

Puck was not his 'true-love' nor was he his 'soulmate' Kurt was hopelessly romantic and would probably die that way. He needed to prove to himself that though it was a small pond he swam in, there must be plenty of fish inside of it. He'd do this duets challenge with Sam and prove to himself that Puck was some passing fling, his feelings for him were strictly physical and that's as far as they went.

Kurt got home from the shop at about seven and instantly went to work on cooking his Father's 'heart-healthy' meals. "How was school today Kurt?" His Dad called from the living room as Kurt walked into the dimly lit room, carrying a tray of food. He debated on telling his Father about the fact that he'd asked a boy to do a duet with him but he decided against it and simply set the tray of food down for him. "Fine, we have a duets assignment in Glee Club but I'll probably just end up singing it alone or something." Kurt said with a bit of a sigh as he headed towards his basement bedroom, he had to send Sam a few songs he'd recorded on his computer. Just a couple not so subtle duets he'd been practically dying to sing with someone who wasn't Mercedes or Rachel.

"Don't get down on yourself Kurt; I'm sure there's someone right in front of you that you're missing." Burt said as Kurt's hand froze around his doorknob, he smiled tightly behind his father's back before he turned his head a little bit to look at him. "Maybe." He said quietly as he pulled open his door and went down into his dark basement, determined to find and send Sam the perfect duet for them to do, preferably something by Diana Ross or maybe a nice Elton John song like 'Your Song' or something.

_Two DaysThree Nights Later_

Kurt smiled when he heard the door upstairs open, his Dad letting Sam in for their little rehearsal, though Kurt had to admit he was more than a little nervous. Both Finn and his father had told him that this was a bad idea, Finn, though he was more than a little douchey at times, he might have hadSI a point. He saw Sam's adorably handsome faceand he couldn't help but smile, watching as those pearly whites seemed to completely light up the room. "Hey Kurt." Sam said lightly, moving across the room as Kurt sat down at his baby-grand piano bench with Sam beside him. Kurt didn't miss the closeness that was between them and he had to remind himself that Sam had chosen this distance, Sam had chosen to be in each other's personal space and he wasn't like 90% of the football population that believed gay was some transmittable disease.

"Hey Sam," Kurt responded with as his fingers played a few light warm-up notes across the piano before they danced lightly in a little bit of a faster pattern. He cracked his knuckles before he turned to look at Sam, their lips instantly crashed together and Kurt let out a tiny whelp from the back of his throat, before Sam pulled away, both more than a little starry eyed. Kurt simply stared into those eyes before he cleared his throat bringing his hand up to stop Sam from bringing them together again. His hand pushed slightly on the blonde's chest and he stopped instantly, a deep shade of red spreading across his cheeks. "I'm sorry Sam but I-" Kurt began, about to tell him about the relationship in which he just got out of but had decided that the less questions asked, the better.

"Wait – you're straight." Kurt said suddenly as his mind kind of did a cartwheel and Sam looked down, his face an even deeper shade of red than before.

"I-uh I think I might be a little uhm… well more than a little bit bi-curious…" Sam said, not able to look at Kurt directly in the face, who just gave himself a mental high-five, he knew that he had impeccable gaydar. Finn and his father could go screw themselves, because once again Kurt Hummel had been right.

"I'm flattered Sam… really I am, but I don't want to 'experiment' with you. I know who I am… and I think that in order for you to figure out who you are." Kurt said, his hand sliding up to rest on his shoulder. "You need to look inside of yourself and ask, if this… if this was something you think you could really see yourself doing… openly." Kurt's voice was soft, but he was playing on Sam's desire and need to be popular, but Kurt was at least being partially honest. Sam might just want to explore a little bit, but that's what college was allegedly for, not junior year of High school, especially when you lived in Lima Ohio.

"I think that maybe you should go, I'll come find you at school tomorrow." Kurt said as Sam got up and the two hugged briefly, he watched as Sam walked away and felt as if maybe the blond hair was taking away a small piece of him too. He let out a small sigh, there was no way they could duet now, no. When he found Sam at school tomorrow it would be to tell him they weren't singing together.

_The Following Evening_

Kurt sank down into his bed, having just performed _'Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy' _with Rachel. Who despite how low he had been feeling, had actually somehow made him feel at least slightly better. He couldn't deny it anymore, he had tried to do the duet with Sam, something that had failed completely and utterly thanks to Finn and his father but if Kurt was being really honest with himself, Sam was not the boy he wanted to sing with. Kurt let out a small sigh as he moved to his vanity; he took a seat and gazed at his smooth features. He had fallen hard for that stupid Noah Puckerman and had perhaps always been falling more and more for him. The boy had even begun to reciprocate his feelings for him and Kurt had done nothing but put him down and made him feel like he wasn't worthy. Though, still Kurt had to admit that if Puck's idea of romance was stealing an ATM for someone, in time Kurt would get over him. What they had had lasted all of a few days and it would in time, mean nothing.

Kurt knew what he needed to do, not just for himself but he needed to prove to Finn and everyone else that he wasn't some delicate tulip that needed a man like the flower needed the sun. He was Kurt Hummel after all, strong, fierce, witty and totally fabulous, the last thing he needed was a guy. He sent out twin texts before turning in for bed, content with what the next day was going to entail.

_The Following Day After School_

Kurt looked out at the closed curtain of the stage, he'd asked Mr. Schuester if he, Mercedes and Santana could do a special performance about empowerment and being all that you could be and of course the overly-enthusiastic teacher agreed. "Nice tights lady-legs." Santana said, coming to stand at his side with Mercedes at hers, he smiled a little bit, looking down at the tight black leggings all three of them were wearing, the unitard was similar to his single ladies one, but the red, pink and black rhinestones on their vests over top their tank tops were decidedly different. Not to mention all of them, including Kurt were wearing heels with a similar design to their vests. It was flashy, over the top and just what he believed all three of them needed right now.

The fast music swelled and the curtain opened as Santana stepped out onto the stage, the Latina walked with every ounce of bitchy confidence she had and brought the microphone up to her lips to kill the song.

"_I see you looking at me_

_Like I got something that's for you_

_And the way that you stare_

_Don't you dare"_

Mercedes was the next to step up, pumping up her fist as if to raise some invisible volume control, totally belting out the lyrics as she walked across the stage, all the while Santana harmonized in the background.

"_'Cause I'm not about to_

_Just give it all up to you_

_'Cause there are some things I won't do"_

Kurt swallowed before he stepped out after her, attempting to mimic Santana's sexy-bitch walk but instead just made it his own, in his opinion looking equally sexy but probably making some weird pigeon toe'd step. He accessed his lower register as he sang, coming off as more than a little sultry, the surprised look from the audience not catching him in the least bit off guard.

"_And I'm not afraid to tell you_

_I don't ever want to leave you confused"_

The three sang together for the next couple of verses, Santana and Kurt harmonizing while Mercedes belted out a few of the notes. Every lyric Kurt sang made him feel a little bit more okay, convincing himself that was he was singing was true was harder than he thought it'd be.

"_The more you try_

_The less I buy it_

_And I don't have to think it through_

_You know if I'm into you_

_I don't need a man to make it happen_

_I get off being free_

_I don't need a man to make me feel good_

_I get off doing my thing_

_I don't need a ring around my finger_

_To make me feel complete_

_So let me break it down_

_I can get off when you ain't around_

_Oh!"_

It was Santana's turn again as she took center stage, Mercedes and Kurt providing both back-up vocals and dance as Santana belted out her couple of verses. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged kind of goofy expressions as Santana definitely owned the independent woman act, Kurt liked to believe that he was a good dancer but it was always easier with your best friend, dancing just seductively as you were.

"_You know I got my own life_

_And I bought everything that's in it_

_So if you want to be with me_

_It ain't all about the bling you bringing_

_I want a love that's for real_

_And without that, no deal_

_And baby I don't need a hand_

_If it only wants to grab one thing"_

Santana side stepped to let Mercedes take center stage, providing as much attitude as humanly possible as she quirked an eyebrow at their audience. Mercedes had less verses but she blasted out every single one with all the sassy-diva strength Kurt knew that she had inside of her. He couldn't help but get more and more into the song as he and Santana danced side by side, mirror reflections of each-other's moves.

"_I don't need a man to make it happen_

_I get off being free_

_I don't need a man to make me feel good_

_I get off doing my thing_

_I don't need a ring around my finger_

_To make me feel complete_

_So let me break it down_

_I can get off when you ain't around_

_Oh!"_

Kurt took the center stage, moving his hips as erotically as possible as he tried to meet the gaze of every one of them, not giving a damn how inappropriate he was being or how uncomfortable he knew some of the guys would be. He saved nothing from the song for anyone else except for the last massive Oh! For Mercedes, the other two stepping forward to stand in a line as the song began to break down a bit.

"Let it go

Let it go

Let it go,

Let it go

Let it go

Let it go,

Let it go

Let it go

Let it go."

The three sang, harmonizing perfectly before they ended the song there, all three starting to laugh as they noticed the look of absolute disdain on Mr. Schue's face, Kurt looked at the two dark-skinned girls, the three of them cackling wildly and at least for now, he felt a little bit better. His mind wandered to the public display of humiliation he'd endured three days before, he'd felt so little and small. He'd forced himself to laugh in the face of his bullies, he wouldn't let them win, and he was strong and independent. He looked over to Mercedes bright face, maybe not totally independent, he may need help from time to time.

_Day One_

Puck was thrown into the small cell, taking in the twin mattress bunk beds, a hardened looking guy sat on the top bunk reading a book with his feet hanging off of the edge. He was pretty badass looking, rockin' the beard trying-to-look late thirties deal, Puck gulped as he met the man's eyes narrowed on him, something deep inside of them seemed to examine Puck, it was something that the teen couldn't quite place. Though they were probably the same age, he felt like a toddler in front of him, because those eyes held onto something that was old and cruel. Puck sat on the bottom bunk, not in a hurry to start any kind of trouble, especially with the guy he was going to be sharing a room with. He had three months in this hellhole, a three month sentence then he could walk, his heart fluttered a bit when he thought of getting the chance to see Kurt again. He felt like a totally pansy, but he was in here because of the way he felt for him, in this place he could never say his feelings out loud but Kurt was safe at least in his thoughts.

"What brings you to this pit?" The gruff voice asked, shaking Puck to a little bit as he sits against the back wall on the bottom bunk, his cellmate directly above him.

"Robbed an ATM, stashed the money, now here I am." Puck said, trying to sound as cool as he possibly could Puck extended his legs out and let them hang over the side of the bed.

"You're full of shit; no one robs an ATM and stashes the money for three months. You gave it to someone, or you're lying about it." The gruff voice said above, the honesty behind his words sliced through Puck and he fell silent, feeling his confidence waiver a bit.

"Oh yeah? And who the fuck are you anyways?" Puck asked angrily as he sat up in his bed and moved to stand, but was grabbed and pinned to the wall in an instant, a toothbrush filed down to a razor sharp pointed instantly pressed against his throat.

"I'm someone you'll talk to with respect you shit." He said before he shoved off of him, his eyes blazing with something both ferocious and menacing. He swallowed as he sat down on Puck's bed and Puck moved to sit on the other side, his fearful eyes never leaving him. "Name's Duncan," the man finally said as he pocketed the small shiv before turning his head to look at Puck's. "Now you're gonna tell me how you really wound up in here, or is this shit gonna be awkward as fuck?" He asked, eyeing Puck before a small smile spread inside of his beard and both of them started to laugh. "Guess I have my answer." He replied, tears of laughter brimming in his eyes as he let out a few small laughs, standing when a loud buzzer went off.

"What's that?" Puck asked as he too got to his feet, rising to stand beside Duncan, watching as the cell door slid open.

"It's time to grab some grub." Duncan said, something that made Puck smile, maybe life in here for three months wouldn't be so bad after all.

_Day 2_

Puck laid in his bed as he groaned and rubbed his chest, his nipple still hurt from the ring being ripped out the day before at lunch. "Stop your bitchin." Duncan said from the bunk above, Puck had been jumped while Duncan was off in the bathroom and though he wouldn't say it out loud, Puck could tell that he felt a little bad and maybe more than a little pissed off about the whole thing.

"Sorry dude." Puck said lightly, he hated that he was complaining so much about it but the nip seriously hurt! He groaned as he rolled onto his side and stared at the wall, he'd just come from a meeting with his parole officer, they offered him an earlier release if he told them where the money had been stashed. For the hundredth time he lied and told them that he had absolutely no clue where he had put all that money, it was an awful lie but it was one that he needed to tell. If he told them, then all of this would have been pointless, as stupid as it was Puck had known what he was doing the entire time.

"Tell me why you're in here." Duncan said out of nowhere, "or at least tell me why you'd rob a damn ATM with your mom's car." He added, obviously getting frustrated, Puck had come to realize that Duncan was someone who needed to know pretty much everything about everyone or else it drove him a little bit nuts. Puck let out a tiny sigh as he stared at the other side of his cell.

"I guess I… I guess I did it for love."


End file.
